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LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 

EDITED BY 

GEORGE RICE CARPENTER, A.B. 

fBOPESSOR OF RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITT 



WILLIAM SHAKSPEKE 



JULIUS CAESAR 



Conswgwe' (Englist) glassies 



SHAKSPERE'S 



JULIUS CiESAR 



EDITED 

^ITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION 



GEORGE C. D. ODELL, Ph.D. 



PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 




LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 

FOUKTH AVENUE & 30TH STREET, NEW TORK 
323 EAST 23D STREET, CHICAGO 






\^ 



COPTBIOHT, 189f 

LONGMANS. GREEN, AND CO. 

All rights reserved 



First Edition July, 1900 

Reprinted March. 1902, August. 1903, 

February, 1905 May, 1906 Mav, I9i)8 

March, 1910 Juue, 1911 

February, 1913 

May, 1914 



PEEFACE 

The text of this edition of ^'^ Julius Caesar " is founded 
on that of the Cambridge Shakspere ; the very few changes 
that occur have been made only after due consideration, 
and are hardly important enough to warrant mention. 
'J'hose familiar with the various editions of the play 
will recognise the indebtedness of the present edicor for 
many of the notes that accompany the text, — an indebt- 
edness herewith acknowledged once and for all. 

The aim of this edition, as is stated elsewhere, is to 
help the young student in his first serious reading of a 
Shaksperian drama. For this student the introduction 
and the notes were prepared, and for his sake much in- 
formation was included that a riper scholarship would 
find unnecessary and even tedious. The editor has suc- 
ceeded in his task just so far as he has been able to put 
himself in- the place of an instructor trying to interest 
the average class of young people in the study of one 
of Shakspere^s best known and best liked plays. 

G. 0. D. 0. 

Columbia University, May 26, 1900. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction: page. 

I. Life ix 

II. Publication and Date of " Julius Caesar " . . xvi 

III. Source of the Plot xviii 

IV. The Play xxi 

V. Shakspere's Language xxvij 

Shaksperian Grrammar ....... xxix 

Shaksperian Diction ....», xxxviii 

Shakspere's Style xli 

VI. Metre xlv 

Suggestions for Teachers xlviil 

Chronological Table ....... liv^ 

Julius C^sar 1 

Notes , c . . . 89 

Index to Notes . , . . . , . , 155 



INTKODUCTION 



I. Life 

Shakspere was born at Stratf ord-on-Avon, in 1564: — it 
is generally supposed, on the 23d of April. He was tlie 
eldest son of John Shakspere, a man of good yeoman 
stock, who moved from Snitterfield to Stratford some- 
where about 1551, and started in business as a glover, 
according to one story ; as a butcher, according to an- 
other ; and as a produce merchant — a dealer in corn, 
malt, wool, meat, skins — according to a third, x4.ll ac- 
counts agree that this business, whatever its nature, was 
prosperous ; furthermore, John Shakspere's marriage to 
Mary, daughter of Robert Arden, a rich farmer of Wilm- 
cote, added materially to his fortunes, for Eobert Arden, 
on his death in 1556, left this daughter Mary not only a 
legacy in money, but the fee-simple of Asbies, his chief 
property in Wilmcote, in addition to an interest he had 
previously given her in some Snitterfield property. It is 
probable, therefore, that at first the parents of the poet 
■could well afford to maintain him at the Stratford grammar 
school, and here he must have acquired the^^ small Latin 
and less G-reek '' Ben Jonson credits him with knowing ; 
bits of Latin found in his plays come largely from text- 
books used by schoolboys of that time. The French and 
the Italian scattered through his work may have been 
learned in later life. Ordinarily a boy^s training at this 
.school would have continued from his seventh to his four- 



X INTRODUCTION' 

teentli year ; but it is assumed that Shakspere left in his 
thirteenth year, to prop the falling fortunes of his family. 

Before this, John Shakspere had risen to a position of 
considerable influence in the town. In 1561, he was one 
of the two chamberlains of Stratford ; in 1565, alderman ;. 
and finally, in 1568, high bailiff ; from 1567 the corpora- 
tion archives give him the honourable prefix '' Mr/" In 
1575, he bought two houses in Stratford, one of them 
doubtless the alleged birthplace of the poet in Henley 
Street. But in 1578 he was unable to pay various corpo- 
ration taxes. On J^ovember 14 of that year he was- 
forced to mortgage Asbies for £40, and a year later to dis- 
pose of his wife^s property at Snitterfield. Things went 
from bad to worse. In 1585 and 1586, a creditor found 
that John Shakspere had no goods on which distraint- 
could be levied ; finally, on September 6, 1586, the elder 
Shakspere was deprived of his alderman's gown because of 
his long absence from the council's meetings. It is quite- 
likely, then, that he may have removed from school his- 
oldest son to help him in business ; and this business maj 
have narrowed down to the one branch of butchering sug- 
gested in the tradition that makes the youthful poet once- 
to have been a slayer of cattle. '' When he killed a calf,"^ 
Aubrey quaintly tells us, '''he would do it in a high style- 
and make a speech."'' 

In 158.2, in spite of the distresses of his father, Shak- 
spere married Anne Hathaway, daughter of a well-to-do 
yeoman of Shottery. Of this union three children were 
born. His wife was eight years his senior, and there are 
grounds for believing the marriage an uncongenial one. 
This fact, and the desire to help his family, probably, 
led Shakspere to seek his fortune in London, about 1585. 
Tradition, however, has always assigned, as the immediate 
cause of departure, a poaching expedition to the deer pre- 
serves of Sir Thomas Lucy of Charlecote Hall. 



INTRODUCTION xi 

There is a further tradition to the effect that Shak- 
spere^s first connection with the theatre was purely exter- 
nal ; he watched over the horses of gallants who rode to 
the play. Within the playhouse he was at first but a ser- 
vant of the actors^ a prompter or call-boy ; from this 
humble position he became actor and afterwards share- 
holder in the company to which he belonged. To just 
what theatre he was first attached is not known ; but after 
1599 Ms fortunes were definitely and finally cast with the 
famous Globe Theatre. He was, after the accession of 
James I, one of the King's Players. His plays were fre- 
quently acted at court before both Elizabeth and James. 

He began his work by adapting old plays, and these 
early efforts retain many of the crudities of the originals 
on which they were founded. But, as the years went on, 
Shakspere developed a style entirely his own, like — yet very 
unlike — what we call the Elizabethan style. It should 
alwa3^s be remembered that Shakspere was the greatest of 
a great school of dramatists, and that Marlowe, Massin- 
ger, Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher, Ford, Webster, and 
Chapman had gifts and graces far too distinguished to be 
eclipsed by any but the greatest. From '''Eomeo and 
Juliet,''^ in the early nineties of the sixteenth century, 
Shakspere's fame was assured. 

His fortunes also rose. The Earl of Southampton was 
his patron, and is said to have helped him once with the 
princely gift of £1,000. Moreover, his profits from the 
theatre were large. He is known to have bought one 
house in London. ISTevertheless his thoughts were ever 
turning toward his native town. He longed most for the 
life of a country gentleman ; to that end, he strove to re- 
establish the family fortunes. He bought and lived in the 
pretentious New Place at Stratford ; and his father's suc- 
cess, on applying for a coat-of-arms, finally enrolled the 
Shaksperes among the rural gentry. To support this posi- 



xii INTROD UCTION 

tion, Shakspere bought up a part interest in the tithes of 
Stratford ; and that he was no laggard in business is 
further proved by suits he brought to recover money from 
two insolvent debtors. The father^s misfortunes had made 
the son wary in his dealings. He joffers a curious instance of 
strongs practical business qualities combined with the high- 
est imaginative power. At any rate, the poor boy who came 
to London in 1585 or thereabouts, left London, in 1611-13, 
very comfortably rich, for that time, in lands and goods, 
with his scutcheon firmly established, and with all the 
honour such solid respectability commands. Shakspere 
died April 23, 1616, and is buried in the parish church at 
Stratford. His wife and two daughters survived him. 

This is all that is known, and much of what is surmised, 
of the life of Shakspere. But some recent writers, giving 
a personal interpretation of his sonnets, and fixing in 
some cases a purely arbitrary order for the production of 
his plays, have built up a fabric of romance around the 
poet^s life which makes him to have been a man of bright, 
good-humoured character, saddened by some great sorrow, 
later rendered misanthropic and distrustful of the whole 
world, and gradually emerging from this vortex of tragic 
gloom somewhere toward the end of his life. This story 
seems to be founded — except in so far as the sonnets are 
concerned — on the fact that in his young manhood Shak- 
spere wrote stirring, manly plays like ^'^ Henry IV ^^ and 
^' Henry Y," and rich, golden comedies like " Much Ado,^^ 
^'As You Like It,'' and "Twelfth Mghf' ; that in his. 
mature manhood he wrote the great tragedies '^ Hamlet,''" 
*'Lear," "Macbeth," and "Othello," and the misan- 
thropic " Troilus and Oressida," " Coriolanus," and 
"Timon of Athens"; and that in later life he wrote 
plays of a less plangent melancholy, especially enlivened 
with portraiture of lovely young girlhood — " The Winter's 
Tale," "Cymbeline," and "The Tempest." This theory 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

of his life apparently would deprive Shakspere of some of 
his dramatic power^ and make his characters but expres- 
sions of his own state of mind ; but it has strong advocates 
as well as strong opponents. 

;N'o account of Shakspere would be complete that did 
not include some discussion of the times in which he lived. 
The England of Elizabeth has been celebrated in song 
and story^ and though we are likely now to exaggerate 
much of the charm of that by-gone ^' Merry Engknd/^ 
there can be little doubt that the period was one of almost 
unmatched vigour and richness of experience. In the 
first place, the discovery of the new world was opening 
men's eyes to the wonders of creation lying remote from 
the world of Europe ; and the manly English race were 
umong the first to seek those far-off regions in the sea. 
It should be remembered that in Shakspere's youth less 
than a century had elapsed since the discoveries of Colum- 
bus, and men by repeated voyages were still adding piece 
by piece to the ideas that were ultimately to take shape 
in the conception of the New World as we know it to-day. 
The discovery of America was a very gradual thing indeed, 
and people in Shakspere's day were still quick to believe 
anything hardy mariners might tell them ; this imagina- 
tive wonder is the very essence of Charles Kingsley's 
'^Westward Ho!'' Eurthermore, the Reformation had 
released men's minds from spiritual thraldom as the 
discovery of America had awakened their imagination.. 
It was an age of the renaissance of learning and letters to 
which Shakspere was born. Finally, the defeat of the 
Spanish Armada in 1588 and the downfall of England's 
greatest rival on the seas had aroused patriotism to the 
height of religious fervour ; as typified in the person of 
the '^'^ Virgin Queen," it had all the chivalrous elements 
that one associates with the most virile and romantic of 
nations. And all these traits were seen against a back- 



xiv INTRODUCTION 

ground of general commercial prosperity ; the nation 
could afford to enjoy life and to make its happiness 
picturesque. 

This is the ideal condition of affairs for art and litera- 
ture. And the Elizabethan age was the time of England's 
richest efflorescence in letters. The poet Spenser and 
the philosopher Bacon ; Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter 
Ealeigh — these are some of the names of that great period. 
But the minds of writers generally turned toward the 
theatre^ that new opening for literature^ and it is chiefly 
by the dramatic poets of the time that the Elizabethan 
age is celebrated. The greatest of these dramatists, beside 
Shakspere^ is Christopher Marlowe, whose " Dr. Faustus/' 
^'^ Tamburlaine the Grreat/' and '^Edward II" are among 
the glories of English literature. Ben Jonson, Beau- 
mont and Fletcher, Dekker, Ford, Chapman, Webster, — 
these men must be studied by one who wishes only a 
superficial knowledge of the Elizabethan drama. Against 
most of these authors Shakspere pitted his talents and 
from them he won the palm, not only in his own day, but 
for all time. It is a noble group of poets, distinguished 
all of them, by splendid energy of style and, often, by 
great interest of plot ; never, until the Victorian era, was 
England to know again so sweet an outburst of song. 

Shakspere's best plays, it should be remembered, were 
all produced within a period of little more than twenty 
years. They have kept the stage until the collapse of the 
actor's art within the memory of people still young. The 
best of these plays — as plays — are those that have been 
most frequently acted : ^^ A Midsummer-Bight's Dream," 
^^The Merchant of Venice," ^^Much Ado about IS^oth- 
ing," ^^As You Like It," ^^ Twelfth N"ight," among the 
comedies; ^''Eomeo and Juliet," ^^ Julius Ca9sar," *''' Ham- 
let," ^^ Macbeth," ^^King Lear," ^^ Antony and Cleo- 
patra," " Coriolanus," among the tragedies ; '' King 



INTRODUCTION 



XV 



Eichard III/' ''King Henry IV (part I), ''King Henry 
V/' among the histories. These plays every reader of 
only average range should know ; there is no escape. 
Most of the early plays, on the other hand, are interesting 
simply for linguistic or other special reasons, and the 
other histories do not act very well. The latest plays 
form a group by themselves, characterised by grand poet- 
ical beauty, but by no very vital dramatic action. The 
most sublime poetry Shakspere ever wrote is to be found 
in "The Winter's Tale,'' " Cymbeline," and "The Tem- 
pest," and every well-read man loves them for that as 
well as for their portrayal of character ; but no one who 
has seen any of them on the stage — unless it be " The 
Winter's Tale " — has found the spectacle altogether allur- 
ing or helpful. This large body of superlative work pro- 
duced in about twenty years by Shakspere, in the midst of 
all his labours as actor and manager, is one of the mar- 
vels of literature. 

Finally, to reckon Shakspere's greatness, one must con- 
sider the stage for which he wrote. Those who attended 
the productions of Shaksperian plays by Edwin Booth and 
Augustin Daly at the theatres they controlled, or who may 
see the superb performances by Sir Henry Irving's com- 
pany, might imagine that Shakspere wrote his plays with 
special regard for the scene painter and the stage car- 
penter. As a matter of fact, the Elizabethan theatre was 
a rude structure, in its worst state, built on the lines of 
an inn-yard, probably with only the stage or platform 
roofed over. On the ground — a place corresponding to 
the later English pit — stood the " groundlings," a miscel- 
laneous, rowdy herd of dirty, ill-smelling, ill-behaved 
people, who were the constant terror of the manager and 
the actors. Around the sides of the building ran bal- 
conies with boxes, which were occupied by the richer 
classes. There were proscenium boxes on each side of the 



xvi INTRODUCTION 

house. The nobles, rival playwrights, short-hand writers, 
and the young dandies sat or sprawled on the stage, a 
continual bother to the players. There was no scenery 
and the women's parts were assumed by boys. The stage 
was probably hung with some kind of tapestry or cloth, 
blue for a comedy, black for a tragedy ; a rude sign indi- 
cated where the scene was laid. There was a raised platform 
at the back of the stage which served as a cave, a room, a 
family vault, etc. Above it, on pillars, may have been 
a balcony ' which served for the walls of a besieged town, 
Juliet's balcony, or any such thing. The marvel is that 
Elizabethan auditors could obtain any illusion from such 
simple means ; yet there are some to-day who would cheer- 
fully go back to these methods if only actors could give 
something of the needed inspiration to their work. Never- 
theless, one cannot help suspecting that Shakspere, the 
stage-manager, would have taken uncontrolled delight, as 
Eichard Wagner did, in all the mechanical appliances of 
the modern stage. 

Even in Elizabeth's day Puritanism was beginning to 
show itself, and the theatre was looked upon as loose and 
immoral. In consequence, the playhouses were banished 
to a remote and thinly populated district across the river, 
where they attracted both within and without a crowd 
of disreputable followers. The wonder is that, writing for 
such an audience, the dramatists kept their work to so 
high a standard as they did. And yet that Shakspere 
pleased these people is surely much in their favour. 

II. PUBLICATIOI^' AN^D DATE OF ^^ JULIUS O^SAR '' 

It was not until 1623, seven years after his death, that 
any effort was made to publish a collected edition of 
Shakspere's works. Except for the poems "Venus an(l 
^ See Brandes, page 104. 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

Adonis ^^ and ^^Lucrece/'^ there is no evidence that he 
ever prepared for the press any of the productions of his 
pen. Many of the quarto editions of separate plays 
printed during his lifetime were pirated and set up from 
imperfect and (apparently) shorthand copies taken in the 
theatre during the performance of the plays ; yet Shak- 
spere seems to have been indifferent. Some biographers 
reason that the theatre was distasteful to him, and that he 
cared for it but as a means to establish the fortunes of his 
family ; others maintain that he considered his poems 
literature, and his dramas mere business commodities. 
Such views overlook the art of the plays ; the highest 
creative art can never be wholly commercial, though great 
artists sometimes make fortunes. 

It is to two of Shakspere^s fellow-actors — Heminge and 
Oondell — that we owe the publication of the 1623 folio 
Shakspere ; these obscure men, therefore, brought abso- 
lutely the most priceless gift to English letters. It was 
their aim " so to have published them, as where (before) 
you were abus^'d with diverse stolne and surreptitious 
copies, maimed and deformed by the frauds and stealthes 
of injurious impostors that exposed \_i.e., published] them 
— even those are now offered to your view cur^'d and perfect 
of their limbes ; and all the rest, absolute in their num- 
bers, as he conceived them. ^^ This explains the differences 
between the folio copy and the earlier quarto editions. 

In the folio appeared twenty plays never, so far as we 
know, printed before; one of these was '''Julius Ceesar.''^ 
The text throughout the book shows plentiful lack of 
editing ; many passages are so corrupt as to exhaust mod- 
ern ingenuity to fathom and restore. ''^ Julius Caesar, ^^ 
however, has suffered less than most other plays in the 
volume, and though editors have fussed here and there, 
the text to-day stands in all essentials about as it is found 
in the original print. 



xviii INTRODUCTIOR 

Heminge and Condell grouped the plays^ without re- 
gard to the order of their production^ under the heads of 
Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. ^^ Julius Caesar '' 
stands among the tragedies, before " Macbeth,"^ '' Ham- 
let," '''King Lear," and '' Othello," about where it belongs 
chronologically. Two of the most stupendous tragedies, 
'' Coriolanus" and '^ Timon of Athens," precede it ; after 
those Titanic upheavals of Shakspere's genius, '' Julius 
Caesar," with its note of calm melancholy and its meas- 
ured verse, has the slightest suggestion of anti-climax. 
Fortunately, however, the plaj^s are seldom read in that 
order. 

From internal and external evidence it is supposed that 
" Julius Caesar " was produced somewhere between 1601 
and 1603. In language, it has several points of resem- 
blance to " Hamlet," which must have been played, even 
if in crude, early form, before it was entered in 1602 on 
the Stationers^ Company^s Eegister. Brandes, from the 
likeness of the chief characters of the two plays in motive 
and action, assumes that ^' Julius Caesar " was written 
just before " Hamlet." Brutus and Hamlet are both 
thrust into action from a life of contemplation : Brutus is 
an idealist ; Hamlet, a scholar and dreamer. Both are 
unfit for the work they are called upon to do, and both, 
in the end, bungle it badly ; Hamlet from procrastination 
and uncertainty, Brutus from mistaken judgment. The 
study of the idealist thrown into the world of action 
must have appealed to Shakspere's imagination, and those 
critics do not seem far afield who consider Brutus the 
sketch from which Hamlet was built up. 

III. Source of the Plot 

Though there were several earlier plays on the subject 
of Julius Caesar, Shakspere seems to have used none of 



INTRODUCTION xix 

them in tlie preparation of his tragedy. The materials 
for the play all lie embedded in North^s translation of 
Plutarch, published in 1579, and based, not on the Greek 
original, but on Amyot^s French translation. Erom the 
lives of Csesar, Brutus, and Antony in this volume, Shak- 
spere built up the splendid drama of political intrigue in 
ancient Eome. We know that he always used whatever 
in the sources of his plots seemed worthy of preservation, 
but often that was little more than a bare outline. Here, 
on the contrary, the student of Shakspere, on reading 
the ISTorth Plutarch, is almost shocked, at first, to see how 
many touches in the play that seemed to him peculiarly 
Shakesperian are adapted almost without change from the 
^^ Lives.'' 

Can any lines seem more in the master's spirit than 
those noble words of Brutus : 

"Countrymen, 
My heart dotli joy that yet in all my life 
I found no man but he was true to me. 
I shall have glory by this losing day 
More than Octavius and Mark Antony 
By this vile conquest shall attain unto." 

Yet in his North's Plutarch Shakspere read : 

" It rejoicetJh my heart that not one of my friends hath failed me 
at my need. . . . For as for me, I think myself happier than 
they that have overcome, considering that I leave a perpetual fame 
of virtue and honesty, the which our enemies the conquerors shall 
never attain unto by force or money," etc. 

So, too, the scene between Cassius and Brutus, a little 
before, is reproduced largely from North, Cassius' ques- 
tion, ^'^What are you then determined to do?" being 
changed but from the second person singular of the orig- 
inal, and Brutus' answer being largely found in the answer 
in North, beginning, ''I trust (I know not how) a certain 



XX INTRODUCTION 

Tule of philosophy by the which I did greatly blame and 
Teprove Cato for killing himself, as being no lawful or godly 
act, touching the gods/^ etc. 

Sometimes it is only a hint Shakspere requires. Thus 
Xorth^s ''Tor it was said that Antonius spake it openly 
divers times that he thought that of all them that had 
slain Csesar, there was none but Brutus only that was 
moved to doit, as thinking the act commendable of itself ; 
but that all the other conspirators did conspire his death , 
for some private malice or envy that they otherwise did 
hear against him/^ becomes Shakspere^s justly famous 

" All the conspirators, save only he, 
Did that they did in envy of great Caesar ; 
He only, in a general honest thought 
And common good to all, made one of them," etc. 

'Of course the best instance of this in the play is the 
celebrated oration of Antony. So far as we know, that 
great piece of rhetoric grew from these words in North^s 
Plutarch : ^'Afterwards, when Oaesar^s body was brought 
into the market-place, Antonius making his funeral ora- 
tion in praise of the dead, according to the ancient custom 
of Eome, and perceiving that his words moved the com- 
mon people to compassion, he framed his eloquence to 
make their hearts yearn the more ; and taking Csesar^s 
gown all bloody in his hand, he laid it open to the sight of 
them all, showing what a number of cuts and holes it had 
upon it. Therewithal the people fell presently into such 
a rage and mutiny . . . For some of them cried out : 
' Kill the murtherers ' ; others plucked up forms, tables 
and stalls about the market place, ^^ etc. 

And it is not only ideas ; sometimes it is words he thus 
freely borrows. The latter part of the last extract gives 
the source of the Shaksperian '' Pluck down benches. 
Pluck down forms, windows, anything," just as North^s 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

" colliers, tapsters, and such-like base mechanical people ''" 
was indubitably the origin of some of the wording in the 
first scene of the play. Who, further, that knows the 
quarrel scene, will not come with momentary regret upon 
^N'orth^s ^' did condemn and note Lucius Pella^^ — so stronglj 
have those words become conjoined in our minds as purely 
Shaksperian ? 

Many of the best touches of realism in the play are also 
found in the history — Osesar^s dislike of lean men, the 
prodigies preceding Caesar^s death, the battle on Cassius^' 
birthday, etc. But it all lay in the mine for the pros- 
pector — three of Plutarch ^s '' Lives," and no one to see 
their value but Shakspere. The result is a most inter- 
esting object lesson in the way a great mind works to 
bring its material into a fused and perfect unity ; and 
ultimately our admiration becomes but the livelier when 
we can trace the inspiration to its source. All that makes- 
''Julius Cassar^so fine as a play is Shakspere's ; if the 
history shaped the limbs, Shakspere breathed into them 
the breath of life. 

IV. The Play 

Fortunate is the boy who first makes acquaintance 
with Shakspere through the pages of '' Julius Caesar," or, 
better still, by seeing '' Julius Caesar " well acted on the 
stage. ''As You Like It" or "King Lear" may be 
beyond the powers of a youthful mind, but that boy is dull 
indeed who cannot be moved by this great presentation of 
what took place "in the most high and palmy state of 
Rome a little ere" — and after — " the mightiest Julius fell." 
There is so much life in the narrative that even a reading 
quickens the blood ; on the stage it is irresistible — no 
time for parley, none for delay, but all straight action 
from beginning to end. The excited mob, quieted by the; 



xxii INTROBTJCTION 

tribunes ; Caesar in tlie gorgeous festal procession, with 
the dark by-play of the two chief conspirators becoming 
more prominent ; the wild storm presaging Csesar^s fall; 
the meeting of the conspirators ; the assassination ; the 
turbulent and vacillating crowds swayed, now by Brutus, 
now by Antony ; the flight of the conspirators ; the great 
quarrel of Brutus and Cassius ; and finally the reparation 
on the field of Philippi, — what story could be told more 
rapidly, or, on the whole, more entrancingly ? It is all a 
tale of the upheaval of the old Roman state, and we seem 
for the time to be in the very thick of the combat. And 
it is a combat ; that is why it appeals to the lad of spirit, 
who must always rejoice in a fight between opponents 
evenly matched, whether in football or in some great world 
struggle. Dr. John Brown asserts that all schoolboys who 
read the " Iliad " are Trojans ; but in our play there is a 
chance to be of the party of Brutus or of Antony, and 
still keep one^s self-respect. 

The play, moreover, has the still greater charm of pow- 
erful character drawing. There is, perhaps, none of the 
noble development of character we get in ^^Lear'^ or 
'^ Hamlet,'^ but these Eomans are presented with a direct 
force that takes the imagination captive. They are all 
limned with swift, sure strokes. Brutus, the stern repub- 
lican idealist, caught by the flattery of Cassius and his own 
brooding melancholy into a whirl of human passion for 
which he is entirely unfitted ; Cassius, the political 
schemer, grieving not so much over the downfall of the 
republic — though that grieves him too — as over the fact 
that some one else "should so get the start of the majes- 
tic world and bear the palm alone '^ — the practical man, 
yet always yielding to the idealist ; and Mark Antony, 
the lover of plays and reveller o^ nights, who loves his 
friend and goes honestly and directly to avenge his death, 
— these three men are so strongly yet subtly differentiated 



INTRODUCTION xxiii 

that even the veriest tyro may learn to distinguish them. 
In some way or other the three types are bound to ap- 
pear in every political struggle^ and it is generally Antony 
— the man of practical common sense — who remains after 
the idealist has broken his wings against the bars of time 
and circumstance. 

Even the minor characters are sketched as firmly. 
Ceesar — that parody of the historical figure — boastful 
and superstitious; Casca, whose ^^ rudeness is a sauce to 
his good wit ;^^ Cicero, who '^'^ will never follow anything 
that other men begin ; " Portia, the noble Eoman matron ; 
the faithful Titinius ; and finally the quaint little boy Lu- 
cius, — think of these as the background for the larger 
figures that fill the stage ! Finally, the mob — which 
Brandes would have us believe the aristocratic Shakspere 
hated — where shall we find a more vivid picture of that 
great surging rabble for whose favour successive Eoman 
leaders fought and died ? It becomes in '^Julius Caesar ^^ 
a distinct character, a wilful fortune ruling the destinies 
of man. He reckons ill on the dramatic possibilities of 
this play who leaves out that very important factor of 
the cast, — in the performances of the Meiningen company 
a few years ago it became almost the leading character of 
the drama. 

Finally, for the boy^s suffrage, must be noted the splen- 
did rhetorical quality of the writing. What boy does not 
love an orator ? What boy of any quality is not himself 
an orator swaying vast imaginary audiences to uphold the 
right ? And to this instinct " Julius Cassar '' makes ap- 
peal. The man that in early youth has not learned to 
•''spout " the famous oration of Antony, that has not been 
Brutus or Cassius or both in the quarrel, or that has not, 
with Cassius, ^' stemmed the torrent with hearts of con- 
troversy," has missed something that later years can not 
give him. This is, perhaps, the best reason why the bov 



xxiv INTRODUCTION 

is to be congratulated who begins Shakspere with this 
play ; he can live it in word as well as in story ; the verse, 
like Antony, '^ speaks right on," and has no suggestion of 
the involution and the maze of some of the later, grander 
plays ; yet who can dispute the harmony and splendour 
■of much of the language ? 

Shakspere has sometimes been accused of naming this 
play badly, on the principle that a dramatic work should 
be called after its leading character, if any, and that 
Brutus, not Caesar, is the protagonist of ^^ Julius Caesar/'' 
Hudson explains by saying that Caesar lives on after his 
death, and that his spirit is strong still. Three quotations 
from the play might support this view. Before the assas- 
sination Brutus says, 

* ' We all stand up against the spirit of CaBsar, 
And in the spirit of men there is no blood," etc. 

Again, after the murder, Mark Antony in a burst of 

prophecy justifies (according to Gervinus) the title of the 

play : 

" And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge 

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice 
Cry, ' Havoc ! ' and let slip the dogs of war. " 

This same spirit appears to Brutus before the battle of 
Philippi ; and what says Brutus on the battle field ? 

" Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet ! 
Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 
In our own proper entrails." 

Reasonable as this explanation may be, there is a better, 
because a simpler, one. Shakspere^s work was written pri- 
marily for the stage. We can safely assume that the busi- 
ness of the theatre was known to him from the point of 
view of the manager as well as that of the playwright, and 



INTRODUCTION xxv 

whatever else may be said of the construction of his plays, 
it must be admitted that most of them will act. ISTow it 
is conceded that one of the easiest ways to get people into 
a theatre is to lure them there by means of a suggestive 
or attractive title ; to-day one of the hardest tasks for 
both manager and dramatist is the discovery of such titles, 
which, besides, when found, are protected by law. The 
very posters on the bill-boards preach wisdom to incipient 
play-makers. A title must arouse curiosity or stimulate 
the imagination by awakening a chain of associated ideas. 
Shakspere has shown judgment in both kinds. '^ Much 
Ado about Nothing,'' '' The Taming of the Shrew,'' '' The 
Tempest," '' A Midsummer Night's Dream " — even 
^^Lear," ^^ Hamlet/' ^^ Macbeth," ^^ Othello"— are excel- 
lent examples of the first kind ; ^'^King Henry IV," and 
all the English historical plays named for kings, ^''An- 
tony and Cleopatra," and '''Julius C«sar"are excellent 
examples of the second kind. Every play-goer in Shak- 
spere's time, as now, had, it is to be supposed, some 
ideas to awaken by the name '' Julius Caesar " ; how many, 
then or now, could be stirred by ''Marcus Brutus"? 
'' Write them together," and Brutus is not as fair a name ; 
it will not start a spirit or an audience as soon as " Caesar." 
How much may this have counted in the christening of 
the play ? 

Besides, did Shakspere, when thus naming plays, always 
name them after the chief character ? Is Antonio more 
important than Bassanio or Shylock, even though it is for 
Antonio's life the two latter contend ? Is Cymbeline more 
important than Imogen ? or Henry IV than Hotspur or 
Prince Hal or Falstaff ? To be sure, the people after 
whom " The Merchant of Venice " and " Cymbeline " and 
the first part of "King Henry IV" are named do not die 
in the third act, but the characters are not important ; no 
actor of renown would play one of them. Yet in the two 



xxvi INTRODUCTION 

historical plays, as in '^ Julius Caesar/'' the kingly person- 
age gives a kind of unity to the play that otherwise it 
would lack ; the .titles, besides — and this is our point — 
are good titles ; they at once command attention. 

A second and more telling stricture is the faulty char- 
acterisation Shakspere has given of the great conqueror of 
antiquity. Caesar lives in the play as a mere grandilo- 
quent boaster and braggart. His nature seems to have 
not one element of the greatness it possesses in history. 
-Then, too, he is physically declining; '''he hath the fall- 
ing sickness," he is deaf in one ear, he swoons when the 
crown is offered him, and worse still, '''he is super- 
stitious grown of late, quite from the main opinion he 
once held of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies."' Yet in 
the midst of this deterioration, he struts about like a ver- 
itable pasteboard divinity, boasting himself ''constant as 
the northern star,"" telling rather "what is to be fear"d 
than what I fear ; for always I am Caesar."" "Danger,"' 
moreover, "knows full well that Caesar is more danger- 
ous than he."" No wonder Calpurnia warns him that his 
"wisdom is consum"d in confidence"" ! Between the sim- 
ple, straightforward commentator of the Gallic War and 
this strutting cock how wide a chasm ! 

Shakspere received some of these hints as to the change 
in C£esar"s character just before his death from Plutarch ; 
as to the rest, we can only conjecture his meaning. In 
other places in his plays he shows full appreciation of 
Caesar"s greatness ; here, Csesar is perversely distorted from 
what almost every other great writer has conceived him 
to be. 

Why is this so ? Cervinus has said that Shakspere 
under the artistic circumstances did not dare to bring 
Cgesar forward too conspicuously. The poet, if he intended 
to make the attempt of the republicans his main theme, 
could not have ventured to create too great an interest in 



INTRODUCTION xxvii 

Ctesar ; it was necessary to keep Mm in the background, 
and to present that view of him which gave a reason for 
the conspiracy. Hudson goes a bit further. '^ The great 
sun of Eome/'' he says^, ^^had to be shorn of his beams, 
else so ineffectual a fire as Brutus could nowise catch the 
eye. ... I have sometimes thought that the policy 
of the drama may have been to represent Caesar, not as he 
was, but as he must have appeared to the conspirators ; to 
make us see him as they saw him. . . . For Osesar 
was literally too great to be seen by them.^^ 

Furthermore, he finds an irony pervading this play — the 
irony of Providence, so to speak, or, if you please, of 
Fate; much the same as is implied in the proverb, ''^A 
haughty spirit goes before a fall.^^ This applies especially 
to Caesar, whom, says Hudson, '^ we have most blown with 
arrogance and godding it in the loftiest style when the 
daggers of the assassins are on the very point of leaping 
at him."^ 

^^This,^'' retorts Brandes, ^''is the emptiest cobweb-spin-: 
ning."^ So indeed it is, for our purposes, suggestive 
though it be, and we can only echo, in closing this discus- 
sion, the regret that Shakspere has not given us a portrait 
of Caesar comparable to his Antony (of the later tragedy) 
and his Coriolanus. We cannot agree with Hudson's sug- 
gestion that Caesar was too great for the hero of a drama ; 
rather do we think with Brandes that ^^the play might 
have been immeasurably deeper and richer than it is, had 
Shakspere been inspired by a feeling of Cesar's great- 
ness.^' 

y. Shakspere's Language 

The student of Shakspere should remember that the 
English language three hundred years ago was in a much 
more fluid state than it is to-day. Good use had not been 



xxviii INTRODUCTION 

codified into the rules and principles that at present guide 
the writer from his earliest years ; as a result, Shakspere 
and his contemporaries employed their mother-tongue 
with an almost absolute lack of restraint that must have 
been little short of intoxicating. These men are far from 
inelegant in their diction, but they used with freedom 
many forms that to-day would hardly pass muster with 
even the half-educated. Grammar and rhetoric have at 
last gathered under fixed laws much that in Shakspere^s 
day was unsettled and wavering. It is commonly said 
that the Elizabethan writers were helped by this uncer- 
tainty in the medium they used, and that a more rigid 
discipline would have hampered their genius. Shakspere 
at least may be given the benefit of the doubt. It is more 
to our purpose here to see wherein the Elizabethans had 
the advantage in freedom over nineteenth century writers, 
and a brief discussion of the Shaksperian language will 
follow, for the assistance of those who may be making, in 
/''Julius Caesar, ^^ their first venture in the study of the 
greatest of the English poets. 

Three things the reader of Shakspere must at once be- 
come accustomed to : (1) Shakspere^s rather free syntax ; 
(2) his unhampered use of words ; and (3) his large and 
unrestrained manner of expressing thought. A discussion 
of these three subjects will help the young student to 
understand much that may seem to him odd or inex- 
plicable in the poet's work. The discussion, here, will be 
based entirely on ^^ Julius Csesar," with the caution that 
what is said under the first two heads in connection with 
this play will usually be found applicable to almost any 
other of the plays, and, indeed, to any piece of Eliza- 
bethan literature. 



INTRODUCTION xxix 

Shaksperian Grrainmar 

Personal Pronouns 

1. Case Forms. — There was almost absolute uncer- 
tainty in Shakspere's time as to the proper form of the 
nominative and objective cases of the personal pronouns — 
an uncertainty that continues to this day in ignorant 
speech. In ^^ Julius Csesar/^ consequently^ the nomina- 
tive or objective form is used indifferently after verbs and 
prepositions. 

Examples : All the conspirators, save only he (v, 5, 69) ; 
And let no man abide this deed. But ^ve, the doers (iii, 
1, 95-6) ; I do beseech ^e (originally nominative, and used 
by Shakspere chiefly in earnest address) if yoii (originally 
dative or accusative) bear me hard (iii, 1, 158) ; For I 
have seen more years, Fm sure, than ye (iv, 3, 130). 

2. The ]N"euter Possessive. — Its is rarely found in 
Elizabethan writing ; instead, Shakspere and his contem- 
poraries largely use the Old English possessive Ms.'^ 
Several instances occur in ^^ Julius Caesar. ^^ 

Examples : That every nice offence should bear his com- 
ment (iv, 3, 8) ; And chastisement doth therefore hide Ms 
head (iv, 3, 16) ; Humour, Which sometime hath his 
hour (ii, 1, 250-1). 

3. Mine, Thine, My, Thy. — These forms seem to be 
used by Shakspere with little distinction, before vowels, 
unless, as Abbott suggests, my and thy are used for em- 
phasis. 

Examples : For mine own part (i, 2, 248); By 7ny honour 
(iii, 1, 142) ; Eespect unto 7nine honour (iii, 2, 15). 

' Shakspere frequently uses the form it for the possessive : * ' It 
lifted up it head " {Eamlet, i, 2, 216). 



XXX INTRODUCTION 

4. Thou akd You. — The second person singular is 
used {a) to relatives and intimate friends ; {b) to inferiors 
in rank ; (c) in a contemptuous way toward strangers ; 
and {cl), as it was becoming somewhat archaic in Shak- 
spere^'s time, in the exalted language of poetry or prophecy. 
Yet these rules were not infallible ; cf . in the first scene 
the " Speak, what trade art thou ? ^' with the immediately 
following ^^ You, sir, what trade are you V ^ 

Examples : Compare Calpurnia^s respectful address to 
Csesar, " Your wisdom is consumed in confidence ! . . . 
Call it my fear That keeps you in the house, and not your 
own^'' (ii, 2, 49-51) ; with his affectionate answer : ^''And 
for thy humour, I will stay at home^" (ii, 2, 56). l^ote, 
too, the ^''you^' of the councils of the conspirators, and 
Brutus' affectionate ^Hhou''' to Lucius, and his con- 
temptuous ''^thou"' to Octayius : ^^0 if thou wert the 
noblest of thy strain. Young man, thou coiildst not die 
more honourable " (v, 1, 59-60). According to Abbott ('^'A 
Shaksperian Grammar,^' §232) ^^the difference between 
thou and yoto is well illustrated by the farewell addressed 
by Brutus to his schoolfellow, Volumnius, and his servant, 
Strato : ^' Farewell to you ; and you ; and you, Volumnius ; 
Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep ; Farewell to 
thee, too, Strato'' (v, 5, 31-3). 

5. The Persois^al and the Eeflexive Coi^fused. — 
As in modern colloquial English this confusion is not un- 
common in ^^ Julius Caesar.'' 

Examples : Submitting me unto the perilous night (i> 
3, 47) : Myself have letters of the self-same tenour (iv, 3, 
169) ; Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors 
(iii, 2, 197). 

^ "When the appellative 'sh' is used, even in anger, thou gener- 
ally gives place to you." — Abbott. A Shaksperian Grammar, § 232. 



INTROD TJGTION xxxi 

6. The So-called Ethical Datiye.— With the first 
personal pronoun, Shakspere frequently employs the so- 
called ethical dative to imply interest on the part of the 
speaker. The pronoun, of course, has no grammatical re- 
lationship with the rest of the sentence. The only clear 
instance of this in " Julius Caesar '^ is in the words, 
" He pluck'd me ope his doublet" (i, 2, 264). 

EeLATIVE PEOKOUiq^S 

7. That, Who (Which), As. — These three forms are 
interchangeable, particularly in the correlative expres- 
sions 8iicli . . . as, this or that . . . that ; and 
these or those . . , that. And yet the usual modern 
forms occur on the same page, perhaps, with the obsolete 
forms, in ^'^ Julius Caesar."" 

Examples (who for which): A lion. Who glared (i, 3, 20); 
As the flint bears fire. Who, much enforced, etc. (iv, 3, 
110-1). 

Exaynples (modern use of the correlatives) : That you 
have no such mirrors as will turn (i, 2, 56) ; Looks with 
such ferret and such fiery eyes As we have seen him, etc. 
(i, 2, 186-7) ; Those sparks of life That should be in a 
Roman (i, 3, 57-8). 

Examples (Elizabethan use of the correlatives) : That 
gentleness And show of love as I was wont to have (i, 2, 
33-4) ; Under these hard conditions as this time Is like 
to lay upon us (i, 2, 174-5) ; To such a man TJiat is no 
fleering tell-tale (i, 3, 116-7). 

8. The Which. — This form (cf. the French lequel) is 
used only once in '' Julius Caesar,"" though it is common 
enough in Shakspere. The antecedent is likely to be in- 
definite. 

Example: There shall I try . . . how the people 



xxxii INTRODUCTION 

take The cruel issue of these bloody men ; According to 
the ivhicli, thou shalt discourse (iii, 1, 293-6). 

9. Eelative akd Antecedent Combined. — In this 
union either the relative or the antecedent may be omitted. 

Examples : Did that they did in envy of great Caesar 
(v, 5, 70) ; Thy honourable metal may be wrought From 
that it is disposed (i, 2, 307-8); I may do that I shall be 
sorry for (iv, 3, 64). 

Note. — All this freedom of usage in relative pronouns 
is but of a piece with the freedom in regard to case forms 
of the personal pronoun. 

Adjectives 

10. Double Comparatives and Superlatives. — The 
most famous instance of this rather common habit is Mark 
Antony's ''This was the .most unkindest cut of all" (iii, 
2, 183). See also " The most boldest and best hearts of 
Eome '' (iii, 1, 122). 

11. The Article A (ti). — "Julius Csesar'' employs the 
a7i before words beginning with ic or h, where American 
usage^ at least, tends to a. 

Examples : An universal shout (i, 1, 47) ; An hundred 
senators (iv, 3, 173). 

12. Omission of a after What. — This omission occurs 
when tohat means what kind of. 

Example : Cassius, what night is this ! (i, 3, 42). 

13. Adjectives used for Adverbs. — '''Julius Caesar" 
contains several instances of this now faulty construction. 

Examples Cm the positive degree) : Some will dear abide 



INTRODUCTION . xxxiii 

it (iii, 2^ 114) * ; Thou couldst not die more honour able 
(v, 1, 160) ; And went surly by (i^ 3, 21). 

Examples (in the comparative degree) : Shall it not 
grieve thee dearer than thy death? (iii, 1^ 197); He put it 
by thrice, every time gentler than other (i, 2, 229-30) ; 
For miners a suit That touches Caesar nearer (iii, 1, 6-7). 



Verbs 

14. The Verbal Bidding -eth. — This antique ending 
of the third singular present is very common in " Julius 
Csesar " and almost invariably gives an eifect of impressive 
dignity. 

Examples: The enemy increaseth every day (iv, d, 214); 
The taper burnetii in your closet (ii, \, 35) ; But it 
sufficeth that the day will end (v, 1, 124) ; Where, where, 
Messala, doth his body lie ? (v, 3, 91); But it sufficeth That 
Brutus leads me on (ii, 1, 333-4). 

15. The Plural Indicative Be. — The use of le in the 
indicative is sometimes like that of the subjunctive, to 
express doubt. But it frequently has no such significa- 
tion. It is generally found, in the indicative, only in the 
plural. One case of it occurs in ^'Julius Oaesar.^^ 

Example : Such men as he he never at hearths ease (i, 2, 
208). 

16. Preterite Ten"SE. — The formation of the preterite 
of strong verbs varies from modern prose usage. 

Examples : Thy Brutus Md ^ me give it thee (v, 3, 86) ; 
You durst not (iv, 3, 59) ; That Metellus spake of (ii, 1, 
311). 

* This, to be sure, is in the speech of the " First Citizen." 
' Yet note "that bade the Romans Mark him " (i, 2, 125-6). 



xxxiv INTRODUCTION 

17. Past Participles. — In Shakspere's time the final 
en of past participles was becoming archaic, and the Eliza- 
bethan writers substitute, where the participle might be 
taken for an infinitive, the past tense of the verb. ^' Julius 
Caesar '^ shows this tendency. 

Examples: Where I have tooh them up (ii, 1, 50) ; 
YouVe . . . stole from my bed (ii, 1, 237-8) ; Till 
Antony have sjooTce (iii, 2, 61). A curious uncertainty in 
^'Julius Ogesar^' shows struch {i, 2, 177), strucken (ii, 2, 
114), and stricken (ii, 1, 192) as past participial forms (the 
last two to express the same idea). 

18. Omission- of To of the Ikfiis^itive. — After certain 
verbs the sign of the infinitive is omitted. 

Example : You ought not walk (i, 1, 3). Compare '^ Will 
you go see the order of the course ? (i, 2, 25). 

For the converse, compare the line ^^ That makest 
... my hair to stare'' (iv, 3, 278). 

19. The Auxiliary Do.-^The invariable effect of the 
use of the auxiliary do is like that of the verbal ending 
-eth; it adds dignity or solemnity to the passage. 

Examples : I do fear the people Choose Caesar for their 
king (i, 2, 79-80) ; And those sparks of life That should 
be in a Eoman, you do want (i, 3, 57-8) ; Ye gods, it doth 
amaze me (i, 2, 128) ; Held up his left hand, which did 
4ame and burn (i, 3, 16). 

20. Omission of Do in Questions. — Similar to the pre- 
tseding is the effect of this frequent usage in inverted ques- 
tions. 

Examples : Brought you Caesar home ? (i, 3, 1); Why 
stare you so? (i, 3, 2); Why, saw you anything more won- 
derful ? (i, 3, 14) ; Comes Caesar to the Capitol to-morrow ? 
(i, 3, 36); Portia, what mean you ? Wherefore rise you 
now ? (ii, 1, 234). Occasionally this dignified inversion is 



INTRODUCTION xxxv 

found in simple exhortation : " Then walk we forth 
. . . And . . . Let's all cry/' etc. (iii, 1, 109 ff.). 

21. Shall AKD Will. — In regard to these difficult aux- 
iliaries;, Shakspere is singularly in accord with the best 
modern usage. When he uses luill in the first person, 
it almost invariably expresses determination, inclination, 
or promise ; similarly, shall in the second or third per- 
son generally expresses a threat, a promise, or a com- 
mand. 

Examples : I do not know the man I should avoid (i, 2, 
200) ; The senators to-morrow Mean to establish Caesar as 
a king ; And he shall wear his crown, etc. (i, 3, 85-87) ; 
Eepair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find us (i, 3, 
147) ; Shall no man else be touched but only Caesar ? (ii, 
1, 154) ; We7/ send Mark Antony to the senate-house ; And 
he shall say (ii, 2, 52-3). 

22. Use op Auxiliaries : Omissiois" of the Woed Go. 
— This omission is very frequent. 

Examples : We7/ along ourselves, and meet them at 
Philippi (iv, 3, 223) ; Early to-morrow will we rise and 
hence (iv, 3, 228) ; We must out and talk (v, 1, 22) ; I ivill 
myself into the pulpit first (iii, 1, 237) ; And thither ivill 
I straight to visit him (iii, 2, 267). 

23. Singular Verb with Plural Subject. — This use 
occurs in relative clauses, or when the subject follows the 
verb, and may therefore be considered indeterminate. 

Examples : There's two or three of us (i, 3, 138) ; Three 
parts of him Is ours already (i, 3, 154-5) ; Is Decius 
Brutus and Trebonius there ? (i, 3, 148) ; Oasca, you are 
the first that rears your hand (iii, 1, 30) ; There is tears 
for his love (iii, 2, 26); You know that you are Brutus 
that speaks this (iv, 3, 13). 



xxxvi INTRODUCTION 

24. Plueal Veeb with Sikgulae Subject. — This use, 
common to-day where a plural substantive intervenes be- 
tween subject and verb;, occurs but once in '^ Julius 
Cagsar.''^ 

Example : The posture of your blows are yet unknown 
(v. 1, 33). 

25. Subjunctive Mood.— The subjunctive, as might 
be expected from the constant tendency of our language 
to simplify, is much more common in Shakspere than it is 
to-day, particularly in conditional sentences. ^''Julius 
Csesar " is very rich in illustration. 

Examples : If that thou le'st a Eoman (iv, 3, 102) ; He 
were no lion, were not Eomans hinds (i, 3, 106) ; Or, by 
the gods, this speech were else your last \^iv, 3, 14) ; And 
that luere much he should (ii, 1, 188). 

26. The Subjujn'Ctive aetee Othee Veebs. — The sub- 
junctive usually follows verbs expressing wish or com- 
mand. 

Examples : I would it were my fault (ii, 1, 4) ; I wish 
your enterprise to-day may thrive (iii, 1, 13) . And look 
you lay it in the praBtor's chair (i, 3, 143) ; I would I 
might go to hell among the rogues (i, 2, 266-7). 

27. / Had Rather. — This good old English usage is? 
very common in '^'^ Julius Caesar, ^^ and witlx it is associated 
the kindred had as lief. It should be noticed, however, 
that in Shakspere ivere letter and luere dest occur where 
we should use had letter and had lest. 

Examples : I had as lief not be (i, 2, 95) ; I had rather 
coin my heart (iv, 3, 72) ; I had rather be a dog and bay 
the moon (iv, 3, 27) ; You were best (iii, 3, 12). 

28. liTFiiiriTiVE FOE GEEUiv"D. — There are several cases 



INTRODUCTION xxxvii 

in '' Julius CaBsar " where the infinitive is used for the 
gerundial expression ; e.g. "^ That Tiber trembled un- 
derneath her banks. To hear the replication of your 
sounds"; that is, "on hearing the replication/'' etc. (i, 
h 48-9). 

Examples : You forget yourself. To hedge me in (iv, 3, 
29-30) ; What cause withholds you, then, to moiorn for 
him ? (iii, 2, 103). But do not stain . . . our enter- 
prise , , . to thinh, etc. (ii, 1, 132 ff.). 

Adverbs 

29. Double J^egatiyes. 

Examples : Yet 'twas not a crown neither (i, 2, 237) ; 
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies (ii, 1, 231) ; Nor 
for yours, neither (ii, 1, 237) ; Nor to no Eoman else (iii, 

1, 92). 

Prepositio^^s 

30. The reader of Shakspere will at once become used 
to peculiar uses of prepositions, the meanings of which 
were probably less limited three centuries ago. 

Examples : A surgeon to old shoes (i, 1, 27) ; Be not 
jealous on me (i, 2, 71) ; Tiber chafing ivith her shores (i, 

2, 101) ; Governed ivith our mothers' spirits (i, 3, 83) ; 
"We shall find of him A shrewd contriver (ii, 1, 157-8) ; 
Hath done this deed on OsBsar (iii, 1, 173). 

31. Omission OF Prepositions. — '^ Julius Caesar ''fre- 
quently omits prepositions where the modern language 
requires them. 

Examples : Listen great things (iv, 1, 41) ; What trade 
art thou ? (i, 1, 5) ; What hath proceeded worthy note (i, 
2, 181) ; But ere we could arrive the point proposed (i, 
2, 110). 



xxxviii INTROD UCTIOK 

32. Changed Idiom.— Conversely, the play sometimes 
supplies prepositions after verbs that now do not require 
them. 

Examples : Spurn at him (ii, 1, 11) ; I doubt not of 
your wisdom (iii, 1, 184). 

OOKJUKCTIONS 

33. Co:n" JUNCTIONS Omitted. — This omission occurs 
most frequently in either or both of the chief members of 
a complex sentence denoting result. 

Examples : (So omitted in the first clause) : Now is 
that noble vessel full of grief. That it runs over, etc. (v, 
5, 13-4) ; Have you not made an universal shout. That 
Tiber trembled, etc.? (i, 1, 47-8). {As omitted in the 
second member) : I will not do thee so much wrong to 
wake thee (iv, 3, 268) ; And none so poor to do him rev- 
erence (iii, 2, 120). (Omission of both so and as) : Be 
not fond To think (iii, 1, 39-40). 

Examples of Other Omitted Conjunctions : And down- 
ward look on us. As we were sickly prey (v, 1, 85-6) ; It 
doth amaze me, A man of such a feeble temper should 
So get the start (i, 2, 128-30). 

34. Double Conjunctions. — Conversely, compare the 
double conjunctive expression in '^ If that thou be^st a 
Roman '' (iv, 3, 102) and in ^' Lest that the people " (iii, 
1, 93). 

Note. — Practically, all these uses of the conjunction 
are archaic to-day. 

Shaksperian Diction 

It will be remembered that three hundred years ago 
the English vocabulary had not become absolutely fixed ; 
many nouns and adjectives assumed forms that have now 



INTRODUCTION xxxix 

become more or less obsolete, and many words that have 
since become recognised as simply adjectives or nouns 
were then used freely as verbs. The effect of unusualness 
that such unhampered diction gives is further increased 
by the use of expressions that have now almost entirely 
passed out of the language. Einally, many words are 
used by the Elizabethan writers in a sense quite different 
from their modern meaning. All these matters the stu- 
dent must learn, not in a dry, pedantic way, but merely 
as a means of furthering his knowledge and appreciation 
of Shakspere. Most of the word's will carry their mean- 
ing in the root-syllable ; the rest are so few as to be easily 
remembered. The following lists make no pretence to 
being absolutely complete. They give only the most im- 
portant examples, and it is hoped the student will add to 
them from his reading of the play. 

35. Obsolete oe Archaic Forms : 

afeard (ii, 2, 67). 
carrions (ii, 1, 130). 
cautelous (ii, 1, 129). 
charactery (ii, 1, 308). 
corse (iii, 1, 200 ; iii, 1, 292). 
gamesome (i, 2, 28). 
insuppressive (ii, 1, 134). 
moe==more (ii, 1, 72; v, 3, 101). 
rabblement (i, 2, 244). 
replication (i, 1, 49). 
thorough =: thro ugh (iii, 1, 137). 
wafture (ii, 1, 246). 
yond (i, 2, 194). 

36. NouKS Used as Adjectives : 

Tlher banks (i, 1, 61) ; PMUppi fields (v, 5, 19) ; 
ferret eyes (i, 2, 186). 



xl INTRODUCTION 

37. OoMPOUi^D Adjectives : 

honourable-dangerous (i, 3^ 134). 
high-sighted (ii, 1, 118). 
honey-heavy (ii, 1, 230). 
strange-disposed (i, 3, 33). 

38. Verbs Formed erom Nouns : 

If thou path (ii, 1, 83) ; So fathered and so hus- 
landed (ii, 1, 297) ; It shall advantage, more 
than do us wrong (iii, 1, 243) ; That I do fawn 
on men, and hug them hard. And after scandal 
them (i, 2, 75-6). 

39. Verbs Formed erom Adjectives : 

To stale with ordinary oaths my love (i, 2, 73) ; Out 
of use and staVd by other men (iv, 1, 38). , 

40. Ii^TRAisrsiTivE Verbs Used as Tran'sitive : 

Oalpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home (ii, 2, 
75) ; Weep your tears (i, 1, 61) ; ThQj fall their 
crests (iv, 2, 26) ; And then I sioore thee (made 
thee swear ; v, 3, 38). 

41. Obsolete Words akd Obsolete Meanings : 

an==if (i, 2, 265; iv, 3, 256). 

conceit = conceive, think (i, 3, 162; iii, 1, 193). 

fall=: happen (iii, 1, 244; v, 1, 105). 

fond=foolish (iii, 1, 39). 

the general = the people (ii, 1, 12). 

heap = crowd (i, 3, 23). 

hurtle = to clatter, rattle, rustle (ii, 2, 22). 

orchard = garden (i, 2). 

proper=goodly, well-appearing (i; 1, 28). 



INTRODUCTION xli 

rumour = bustle, noise (ii, 4, 18). 
sooth = truth, truly (ii, 4, 20). 
speed=prosper (i, 2, 88). 
the vulgar = the common people (i, 1, 73). 

Under this head, though, of course, it is but generally- 
connected with the linguistic discussion, we should speak 
of the anachronisms in '^^ Julius Caesar.^' An author is 
guilty of anachronism when he puts ideas, customs, or inven- 
tions into an age anterior to their use or discovery. Thus, 
in ''^Julius Caesar, ^^ the Eomans wear Elizabethan garb, they 
are subject to mediaeval guild laws, they have clocks that 
strike the hour, Brutus turns down the leaf of a book ; and 
Oasca^s oath, ''^May I go to hell among the rogues,'"' is 
equalled only by his statement that Cicero^s speech was 
^'^ G-reek"'' to him. Much learned ink has been spilled on 
this discussion ; but any one who considers how little 
Shakspere would have cared whether these things were 
anachronisms or not, is more amused than profited by it. 
Ben Jonson was archaeologically correct, and prided him- 
self on being so in his ^'' Sejanus,^^ yet the complete oblivion 
into which his play has fallen among all but the learned 
shows that it takes more than mere historical accuracy to 
keep poetry alive. 

This freedom, as well as the freedom of syntax and dic- 
tion, markg the energy of the Elizabethan period, when 
everything was used with the freshness and novelty of a 
first discovery. 

Shakspere's Style 

The Shaksperian syntax, however, and the Shaksperian 
diction are hardly more than accidents in the net result 
that we call Shakspere. They are really Elizabethan, and 
can be found in the work of Shakspere^s contemporaries ; 



xlii INTRODUCTION- 

but what distinguislies Shakspere from these other writers 
is his own splendid manner of saying things. This manner 
ought to become familiar to every high-school student^ who 
is^ indeed, likely, unassisted, to class poetry as rhymed and 
unrhymed, and, as it were, rest the whole poetical discus- 
sion there. He can perhaps hardly tell the poetry of Long- 
fellow from that of Tennyson, or the poetry of Milton from 
that of Shakspere. It should be the object of all intelligent 
teaching to enable the student to appreciate the style and 
the manner of the poetical work he is reading. 

It must be clear to every reader of ^^ Julius Caesar" that 
the secret of the manner is a certain freedom and largeness 
of expression that becomes almost a sustained style, and 
clothes even the most trivial thought with a kind of beauty. 
Sometimes this largeness becomes simply big, swelling 
phrases, as in 

''Vouchsafe good-morrow from a feeble tongue" ; 
or in 

*' Here didst thou fall, and here thy hunters stand, 
Signed in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe. 
world, thou wast the forest to this hart, etc. 

and there it is less admirable. But usually Shakspere ex- 
presses himself largely and vigorously because he thinks 
largely and vigorously, and the result is an increased 
dignity that no prose could attain to. These things can 
be felt, rather than explained ; but any schoolboy that 

can read the lines 

"Many a time and oft 
Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements, 
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 
Your children in your arms, and there have sat 
The live-long day, with patient expectation. 
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome ; 
And, ivhen you saw his chariot hut appear^ 
Have you not made an universal shout, 
That Tiber tremhled underneath her hanks 
To hear the replication of your sounds 
Made in her co7icave shores 9 " 



INTRODUCTION xliii 

and not feel that here is an effect wholly beyond the power 
of prose and due wholly to the seriousness and moral 
earnestness of the poet, has good reason to suspect his 
ability to master the subtler distinctions of English style. 
Reduce the last three lines to prose — if that be possible — 
and you will see how much the thought owes to Shakspere^s 
way of putting it. 

These things, it may be said with some justice, are 
Elizabethan ; Marlowe, especially, had the same large, 
serene manner. But when Shakspere's thought becomes 
tinged with a higher emotional or moral force, he passes 
into a realm where few of his contemporaries follow him 
and that too but rarely. Though ''^Julius Csesar^'' is not 
so rich as some other plays of our dramatist in such verses, 
it still offers many instances of what I mean. Take the 
lines of Brutus to the boy Lucius : 

" Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile, 
And touch thy instrument a strain or two ? " 

and the still more beautiful lines in the same scene, 

" It was well done and thou shalt sleep again ; 
I will not hold thee long ; if I do live, 
I will he good to thee. 
, . . . murderous slumber, 
Lay^st thou thy leaden mace upon my hoy 
That plays thee music! — Gentle Jcnave, good night ; 
I ivill not do thee so much wrong to wake thee.'" 

Here the union of sense and melody is complete; the style 
is still as free and beautiful, but it has become flushed 
with the pathos of the situation. The verses almost ap- 
proach in their lovely quality the words of the dying 
Hamlet, 

" If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, 
Absent thee from felicity awhile, 
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain 
To tell my story " ; 



xliv INTRODUCTION 

or the perfect lines in '^ Timon of Athens/' 

" Timon hath made his everlasting mansion 
Upon the beached verge of the salt flood.*' 

When Shakspere rises beyond this intolerable pathos 
into the realm where he contemplates the world of nature, 
his verse becomes touched with a radiant beauty, a pierc- 
ing sweetness, that no other poet has ever equalled. Such 
lines are not to be found in ''^Julius Caesar/" which does 
not, indeed, represent Shakspere's highest lyrical gift ; 
but as the verses just quoted from '^ Hamlet " show the 
poefs noblest emotional expression, so the lines from 
'' The Winter's Tale,'' 

''Daffodils 

That come before the swallow dares and take 

The winds of March with beauty, " 

or the still more exquisite lines from the burial of Imogen 
in " Cymbeline," 

"With fairest flowers, 

Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, 

I'll sweeten thy sad grave ; thou shalt not lack 

The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose, nor 

The azur'd harebell, like thy veins ; no, nor 

The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander, 

Out-sweeten'd not thy breath : the ruddock would 

With charitable bill, .... 

. . . . bring thee all this ; 

Yea, and furr'd moss besides, when flowers are none 

To winter-ground thy corse," 

show his supreme handling of nature. The latter style is, 
to use Arnold's expression, the more magical ; but both 
styles show Shakspere's music and Shakspere's imagina- 
tion at their best. The student should compare these 
lines with lines from the work of any other poet, and thus 
feel their superiority ; moreover — and this is the main 
point here — he should see how many similar passages he 



INTRODUCTION xlv 

can find in ^'Julius Caesar'^; if not passages of equal 
beauty, yet liow nearly approacliing them. He should 
read many of the yerses aloud and catch the swing of 
them ; they should be more to him than the cerements of 
thought. Only when one feels the Shaksperian manner is 
one in a fair way to appreciate what Shakspere is in litera- 
ture. 

YI. Metee 

The dialogue of ^^ Julius Caesar ^^ is chiefly written in 
blank (unrhymed) verse. It is to be remembered that the 
rhythm or melody of this verse is brought about by the 
more or less regular recurrence of accented syllables, the 
stress of which produces a kind of musical cadence. It is 
sufficient to state that, in the regular Shaksperian blank 
verse, 

(a) Each line consists of five feet, 

(b) Each foot containing two syllables, 

(c) The first unaccented, the second accented. 

Accou' I tred as' | I was' | I plung' | ed in' (i, 2, 105). 

But ere' | we could' | arrive' | the point' | propos'd' (i, 2, 110). 

N'othing could in general be more monotonous or unpleas- 
ant than the regular succession of such lines without a 
single departure from the norm ; and, as a matter of fact, 
the great poets are always distinguished by the variety 
they can obtain in the metre they use in any given piece 
of work. Inferior verse is likely to be very regular. 
Therefore, though the beginner may expect to find the 
larger part of the verses of '^^ Julius Cassar"^ of the pattern 
explained above, he must be prepared to recognise several 
devices by which Shakspere increases the variety and in 
consequence the power of his poetry. This variety was 
brought about 



XI vi INTRODUCTION 

(i) By changing the accent, sometimes once and some- 
times twice in a line : 

Hor'ses | did neigh', | and dy' | ing men' | did groan' (ii, 2, 23). 
Think' of | this life' ; 1 but', for | my sing' | le self (i, 2, 94). 

(ii) By adding extra syllables, either at the end of a line 
or elsewhere : 

As well 1 as I 1 do know | your out | ward fa | vour (i, 2, 91). 
Are to I the world | in gen | eral as | to C^e | sar (ii, 2, 29). 

These extra syllables may be slurred in pronunciation, 
as in the case of the second syllable of general above. 
Other instances of slurring are 

Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds (ii, 2, 19). 
His corporal motion govern'd by my spirit (iv, 1, 33). 
A barren-spirited fellow ; one that feeds (iv, 1, 36). 

(iii) By making a foot consist of a single syllable, spe- 
cially stressed in reading : 

As a sick' | girl'. | Ye gods' I | it doth' 1 amaze' | me (i, 2, 128). 

In general, then, it may be said that Shakspere con- 
forms to the model of the ordinary blank verse ; but he 
writes so freely that one is sometimes tempted to believe it 
a matter of indifference to him, so long as he has five ac- 
cented syllables, where the accents fall. There are in his 
verse numerous shorter, incomplete lines, and it will be seen 
that occasionally lines rhyme ; but rhyme is found with 
much less frequency in his mature work and hardly ever 
in his latest work. The chronological study of his poetry 
shows constant gain on his part in freedom and vigour, 
and a superb facility in making the verse take any variety 
of form he wished. 

Let the reader note, too, whether in general in the play 
the sentence ends with the end of the line ; if the beginner 



INTRODUCTION xlvii 

cannot at first see the immense gain in sonority and ease 
that results from the method of closing the sentence in 
the middle of a line, he is recommended to read aloud 
long passages from some dramatist who habitually stops 
his thought at the end of the line. This treatment is 
warranted to cure even the tone-deaf. 

In closing this discussion, I should like to advise the 
student to consider the effect in Shaksperian verse of the 
placing of the so-called cassural pause — a breathing-place, 
as it were, in the body of the line. The lines quoted above 
will illustrate. Much of the melody of these comes from 
the variety in placing the pause, and the student may get 
both pleasure and profit from finding the number of kinds 
of musical phrases, as it were, this variety leads to. It is 
impossible to say how much of the dreadful effect of many 
poems is due to the monotony of caesural habits or the 
complete absence of any such habit. The student should 
never read a line without providing for the csesura ; he 
should never write out the metrical scheme without indi- 
cating the place where the pause falls. A line is com- 
pletely scanned only when it receives the double line of 
the caesura, thus : 

Did r I the tir'Jed Cae'|sar. | And this' [ man' (i, 2, 115). 

In great poetry the pause is likely to come in the middle 
of a foot rather than at the end, the divergence subserv- 
ing variety. 



SUGGESTIONS FOE TEACHERS 

The object of the preceding introduction has been 
simply to interest the student in Shakspere and his work. 
Too often the literature read in schools is regarded by the 
classes as only a row of hooks to hang facts on against that 
dismal day when a college examination is to settle one^s 
fate once and for all. The headlong way in which in 
some schools prescribed books are read, and the needlessly 
unintelligent manner in which they are studied and com- 
mented on in others, are further aids to disgusting pupils 
with many of the choicest products of the creative mind. 
Better the quickening of the spirit than the successful 
cramming for fifty examinations. The introduction has 
sought, then, to show that '^'^ Julius Caesar ^Ms alive, and 
no mere literary husk of linguistics and references. To 
this end Shakspere has been presented as humanly as 
possible. The analysis of the Shaksperian language and 
metre, on the other hand, may tire many young readers, 
and seem a hindrance to the interest desired ; let them but 
be patient, however, and even this hindrance will drop 
away. If the student does not quite understand why 
Shakspere uses certain expressions and certain rhythms, he 
will be balked of just so much enjoyment in the reading 
of the play ; his attention will be distracted. Once mastered 
and understood, the seeming queerness acquires a charm 
of its own by falling into its place as part and parcel of 
this big, human fact, this Shakspere, that every educated 
man or woman should know something about. 



J 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS xlix 

Every teacher, in working over this play, should strive 
so to interest his class that the members of the class will 
be desirous of reading other Shaksperian plays. Study 
that leads to any other result is practically fruitless. How 
is this interest to be awakened ? First and foremost, the 
play in hand should be read for the story pure and simple ; 
no reader chronically addicted to reading from childhood 
ever began in any other way. Let the class read the play 
through once, as rapidly as possible, to get the excitement 
of it, to see " how it comes out.^" Naturally the intelligent 
teacher will call attention to unusual things in the text, in 
so far as that will help the understanding of the story ; 
even an occasional illustration from other works will help ; 
but nothing must check the forward rush of the narration. 
Eead thus, Shakspere will seem human and delightful to 
all but the dullest ; read in petty fragments two or three 
times a week — especially if every linguistic or rhythmical 
i is dotted by a painstaking teacher — he will probably be- 
come an unmitigated bore. Perhaps before the reading 
begins in earnest it would be wise for the teacher to call 
the attention of the class to the most frequent of the 
Shaksperian locutions now obsolete or passing away, and 
practise the members in the Shaksperian verse. Let the 
class understand what verse is — not a queer sort of writing 
that breaks off into set lines, but a consistently exalted, 
emotional speech, in power and sweep far beyond the at- 
tainment of prose ; let the student get the rhythm of the 
thing — and then trust the rest to Shakspere. That is the 
way to begin. This particular play, with the prose of the 
cobbler and the poetry of the tribunes, offers a test at the 
very beginning. . A teacher may from time to time wish 
to inquire why people in the play are doing certain things 
or why they did not act otherwise. Such interruption is 
legitimate and stimulates interest, but it may easily be 
carried to excess. 



1 SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 

Up to this point the method of procedure will probably 
be identical, whether the play is merely to be read or' 
whether it is to be minutely studied. In the latter case, 
of course, the second reading will necessarily be a more 
protracted and serious affair than in the former. It is 
sufficient for reading that the pupil thoroughly under- 
stand the story as a whole and in its parts ; he should 
know pretty well the conditions under which Shakspere 
wrote, and he should be able to recognise Shaksperian ex- 
pressions in other plays \ in other words, the charm of 
Elizabethan writing should be not entirely lost on him in 
future. Let him analyse the plot in writing, or write 
themes on various subjects suggested by the plot ; but 
never let him do thij to the point of boredom. Let him 
never grow to dislike ''^Julius Caesar.^^ 

In this work, but especially in the more analytical read- 
ing for study, the teacher must follow the bent of his own 
individuality. An intelligent and magnetic instructor 
could, conceivably, attain the end — the interesting of the 
pupil in Shakspere ^nd in things of the spirit generally — 
as much by talking of Shakspere^s conception and treat- 
ment of ancient Eome or of the England of Elizabeth as 
by talking of things more intimately connected with the 
structure and language of the play. To give advice to 
such a guide is little short of impertinent ; he accom- 
plishes his end by a kind of divine right. But for the 
great body of his faithful, if less inspired, fellows, it may 
be suggested that no study of '^ Julius Caesar " is adequate 
which does' not include a knowledge of most of the things 
treated in the introduction to this edition of the play. 
The student need not become a pedant ; but he must 
know how to explain the comparatively difficult points of 
Shaksperian diction, syntax, and verse ; he must know 
the structure of the play and he must know in most cases 
just what Shakspere was aiming at. "Julius Gaesar^' 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS li 

will stand a deal of such treatment without letting much 
of its lifeblood. 

Discussion will, of course, be aided by a teacher that 
knows his Shakspere thoroughly. Cross references in 
the play and references to other plays always interest 
and fascinate a class ; the chief danger in them is that 
they make a fatally easy way of appealing to the gallery. 
Nevertheless, any class must be interested in verbal 
resemblances such as those in this play and in ^^ Hamlet/'' 
Some notion of what the commentators have said of 
^^ Julius Caesar'^ is also indispensable to a teacher that 
would make his best effect. Moreover, the student should 
be encouraged to do outside reading for himself ; he may 
well be interested in learning of the life and times of 
Shakspere and in comparing the work of some of the other 
Elizabethans — Marlowe or Ben Jonson — with Shakspere^s 
own. Of course such extra study can be pursued by but 
few at best — schools, in large cities especially, are such 
distractingly busy places ; but this is the ideal. The 
teacher should know enough of Shakspere to feel reason- 
ably sure of his ground ; for his own comfort he should 
go, say, even to the depths of the sonnet discussion. He 
must get a perspective ; otherwise, he lives from hand to 
mouth, always conscious of his own shortcomings, and 
leaving the quick-witted student with a vague feeling of 
something undone. To give out the whole Shaksperian 
question in driblets to a class would be absurd ; but the 
teacher who knows it all reasonably well can provide just 
enough to make the work attractive and inspiring beyond 
compare. And he will be conscious of sowing seed for 
the future. 

Perhaps the best handbook for the beginner in Shak- 
sperian criticism is Dr. Edward Dowden^s ^' Shakspere '' 
in the series of Literature Primers. In this work will be 
found all that the average student may wish to learn of 



lii SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 

Shakspere^s life, and the production of liis plays ; it also 
contains introductions to each of the plays and poems. 
'The most interesting of recent essays on the poet is George 
Brandes^ ''^ William Shakspere : a Critical Study /"* a book 
which tries to build up a personality for Shakspere as 
well as give the best opinion, old and new, of his work. 
Even if one does not follow the author to the extremes 
•of his theory, one cannot help receiving many fresh and 
vigorous ideas from this monumental production. It is 
fascinating as literature and most suggestive as a basis 
ior further research. 

Other works that should be known by those who wish to 
go more deeply into the subject are '^ Outlines of the Life 
of Shakspere, ^^ by J. 0. Halliwell-Phillipps, which contains 
in its appendix much curious and interesting information ; 
" The Life and Work of Shakspere,'' by F. G. Fleay ; 
'' Shakspere : His Mind and Art,'' by E. Dowden ; '' Wil- 
liam Shakspere," by Karl Elze ; by Barrett Wendell ; by B. 
Ten Brink, and, finally, the new ^'^Life of William Shak- 
spere " by Sidney Lee, which is valuable for a most interest- 
ing discussion of the " Sonnet" question and for a superb 
bibliography. This bibliography could well be made the 
basis of Shaksperian study. For questions of more minute 
detail the scholar is referred to the papers by Spedding, 
Fleay, and Furnivall in the ^' Transactions of the JSTew 
Shakspere Society." Interesting, too, though not invalu- 
able, are Dowden's ^' Shakspere's Sonnets" and Gerald 
Massey's ''*' The Secret Drama of Shakspere's Sonnets " — 
as supplements to the Brandos and Sidney Lee works. 

The student, finally, for reference, should know how to 
use E. A.Abbott's ''^A Shaksperian Grammar," Schmidt's 
^' A Shakspere Lexicon," and Bartlett's ''^A Concordance 
to Shakspere." Anything beyond this will lead to the 
realm of linguistics, the text-books for which it is obviously 
ii^< the duty of this volume to suggest. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS liii 

So much for Shakspere in general ; for special study of 
" Julius Cassar " the beginner is referred to the essays by 
Hudson (Shakspere^s Life, Art, and Characters) ; by Ger- 
vinus (Shakspere Commentaries) ; by Brandos ; and by 
Dowden (Shakspere : His Mind and Art). 

It is probable that many students into whose hands this 
book will fall are more or less familiar with Cesar's 
^^ Commentaries ^^ and have some general knowledge of 
the outlines of Caesar^s life ; to those who wish further 
information, however, we may recommend a study of Mr. 
W. Warde Fowler's '^ Julius Caesar ^' in " The Heroes of the 
Nations Series " (New York, Gr. P. Putnam^'s Sons), and 
for a graphic account of the events with which Shakspere's 
tragedy is concerned, a reading of the last chapters of 
Froude^s " Caesar : a Sketch,^^ — chapters which, although 
coloured by the author's prejudices, cannot fail to excite 
a lively interest. 



[IV 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 



Shakspere's Life and Works, 



Contemporary History and Litera- 
ture (English and Foreign). 



1564. April 26. 
Avon. 



Baptised at Stratf ord-on- 



1582. November 28. Bond given for mar- 
riage with Anne Hathaway. 
1.583. Daughter (Susanna) born. 



1585. Twins (Hamnet and Judith) born. 



1592. By the middle of this year, a recog- 

nised playwright in London. 

1593. Venus and Adonis published. 

1594. By this year, a member of the Lord 

Chamberlain's company. Lucrece 
published. 



1552. Spenser born. 

1553. Hooker and Lyly born. Edward 

VI died ; Mary succeeded. 

1554. Sidney born. 

1558. Peele born ? Mary died ; Elizabeth 

succeeded. 

1559. Chapman bom ? 

1560. Greene born. 

1561. Bacon born. Gorboduc, the first 

English tragedy, acted. 

1562. Lope de Vega born. 

1563. Fox's Book of Martyrs. 

1564. Marlowe born. Galileo born. Calvin 

died. 

1566. UdalPs Ralph Royster Doyster, the 

first English comedy, printed. 

1567. Abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots. 

1569. Mercator's first chart. 

1570. Ascham's The Schoolmaster. Mid- 

dleton born. Dekker born ? 

1572. Knox died. Camoens's Lusiads. 

1573. Ben Jonson born. 

1577. Holinshed's Chronicle. Drake be- 

gan circumnavigation of the 
globe. 

1578. Harvey born. 

1579. Lyly's Euphues. North's transla^ 

tion of Plutarch. Spenser's Shep- 
herd's Calendar. Fletcher born. 

1580. Montaigne's Essays, i and ii. Ca^ 

moens died. Lyly's Euphues and 
his England. 

1581. Heywood born ? Tasso's Gerusa- 

lemme.Liberata. 



1584. Massinger born. William the 
Silent assassinated. Peele's Ar- 
raignment of Paris. 

1586. Beaumont and Ford born. Greene's 

Orlando Furioso acted, Sidney 
killed. 

1587. Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded. 

Marlowe's Dr. Faustus acted ? 

1588. The Invincible Armada defeated. 

Kyd's Spanish Tragedy acted ? 
1590. Battle of Ivry. Lodge's Rosalind. 
Marlowe's Tamburlaine (both 
parts) printed. Sidney's Arcadia. 
Spenser's Faerie Queene (i-iii). 

1592. Greene's Groat's-worth of Wit. 

Greene died. Presbyterianism 
established in Scotland. 

1593. Marlowe killed. 

1594. Marlowe's Edward II. 



CHRONOLOaiGAL TABLE 
CHRONOLOGICAL "IKShY^— Continued 



Iv 



Shakspekb's Life and Woeks. 



CONTEMPORAKT HiSTOET AND LlTEEA- 

TUEE (English and Poeeign). 



1596. Coat of arms applied for by his 

father. His only son (Hamnet) 
died. 

1597. Bought New Place at Stratford. 

Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, 
and Richard III published. 

1598. Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, some 

sonnets, The Two Gentlemen of 
Verona, The Comedy of Errors, 
Love's Labour's Lost, Love's 
Labour's Won (All's Well that 
Ends Well ?), Midsummer Night's 
Dream, Merchant of Venice, 
Richard II, Ricbard III, Henry 
rV, King John, Titus Androni- 
cus, and Romeo and Juliet 
mentioned by Francis Meres. 
Merchant of Venice entered in 
Stationers' Register. Love's La- 
bour's Lost and Henry IV (first 
part) published. 

1599. Became a shareholder in the Globe 

Theatre. Two sonnets and some 
poems from Love's Labour's 
Lost published with the work of 
others in The Passionate Pil- 
grim. 

1600. Titus Andronicus, Midsummer 

Night's Dream, Merchant of 
Venice, Henry IV (second part), 
Henry V, Much Ado about Noth- 
ing, published. As You Like It 
entered in Stationers' Register. 

1601. His father died. 

1602. A performance of Twelfth Night 

referred to under date of Feb. 2, 
bj^ John Manningham of the 
Middle Temple. The Merry Wives 
of Windsor printed. 

1603. First quarto of Hamlet. 

1604. Second quarto of Hamlet (revised 

and enlarged from the first 
quarto). 

1605. Othello acted ? 



1607. His daughter Susanna married. 



1608. His mother died. King Lear pub- 
lished. 



1596. Descartes born. Jonson's Every 

Man in his Humour acted. Spen- 
ser's Faerie Queene (iv-vi). 

1597. Bacon's Essays (ten first printed). 



1598. Edict of Nantes. Peele died. Chap- 
man's Iliad (first part) ; Hakluyt's 
Voyages and Travels (vol. i). 



). Cromwell born. Spenser died. The 
Globe Theatre built. Jonson's 
Every Man Out of his Humour 
acted. 



1600. Calderon born. 



1601. Jonson's The Poetaster. 

1602. The Bodleian Library founded. 

Dekker's Satiromastix. 



1603. Elizabeth died ; James I succeeded. 
Florio's translation of Mon- 
taigne's Essays. Heywood's A 
Woman Killed with Kindness. 
Jonson's Sejanus. 

1605. Sir Thomas Browne born. Cervan- 

tes' Don Quixote (vol. i). The 
Gunpowder Plot. Bacon's Ad- 
vancement of Learning. Jonson's 
Volpone acted. 

1606. Lyly died. Corneille born. 

1607. Virginia settled. Chapman's Bussy 

d'Ambois. Tourneur's Revenger's 
Tragedy. 

1608. Milton born. Beaumont and 

Fletcher's Philaster acted. Mid- 
dleton's A Trick to Catch the Old 
One. 



Ivi 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 
CHRONOLOGICAL T KBIjR— Continued 



Shakspere's Life and Works. 



CONTEMPORART HiSTORY AND LITERA- 
TURE (English and Foreign). 



1609. Troilus and Cressida, Pericles, and 

the Sonnets published. 

1610. A performance of Macbeth noted 

under date of April 20, in the MS. 
diary of Dr. Simon Forman. 



1616. Feb. 10. His daughter Judith mar- 
ried. April 23, he died. Is buried 
in the church at Stratford-on- 
Avon. 

1622. Othello published. 

1623. The first edition of Shakspere's 

plays (the first folio) published. 
Pericles is omitted. In the volume 
are printed, for the first time so 
far as we know, The Tempest, The 
Two Gentlemen of Verona, Mea- 
sure for Measure, Comedy of 
Errors, As You Like It, The 
Taming of the Shrew, All's Well 
that Ends Well, Twelfth Night, 
Winter's Tale; King John, 1, 2, 3; 
Henry VI, Henry VIII, Corio- 
lanus, Timon of Athens, Julius 
Caesar, Macbeth, Antony and Cle- 
opatra, and Cymbeline. 



1609. Dekker's Gull's Horn-book. Jon- 

son's The Silent Woman. Douay 
translation of the Bible. 

1610. Jonson's The Alchemist. 

1611. Chapman's Iliad (complete). The 

Authorised Version of the Bible. 

1612. Bacon's Essays (Second Edition). 

Webster's The White Devil. 

1613. Jeremy Taylor born. 

1614. Chapman's Odyssey (i — xii). Jon- 

son's Bartholomew Fair. Napier's 
Logarithm orum Canonis Descrip- 
tio. Raleigh's History of the 
World. 

1615. Don Quixote (part ii). Chapman's 

Odyssey (xiii— xxiv). 

1616. Beaumont and Cervantes died. 

Harvey lectured on the circula- 
tion of the blood. Webster's 
The Duchess of Malfi. Jonson's 
Works (voL i, folio edition). 



JULIUS C^SAR 



DEAMATIS PERSOl^^ 



conspirators against Julius Caesar, 



Julius C^sar. 

OcTAVius Cesar, 

Marcus Antonius, 

M. ^MiLius Lepidus, 

Cicero, ^ 

PuBLius, y senators. 

PopiLius Lena, ) 

Marcus Brutus, 

Cassius, 

Casca, 

Trebonius, 

LiGARIUS, 

Decius Brutus, 
Metellus Cimber 

CiNNA, 

Flavius and Marullus, tribunes. 

Artemidorus of Cnidos, a teacher of E,hetori3„ 

A Soothsayer. 

CiNNA, a poet. Another poet. 

LuciLius, 

Titinius, 

Messala, 

Young Cato, 

volumnius, 

Varro, 

Clitus, 

Claudius, 

Strato, 

Lucius, 

Dardanius, , 

PiNDARUS, servant to Cassius. 



triumvirs after the death of Julius Caesar, 



friends to Brutus and Cassius. 



servants to Brutus. 



Calpurnia, wife to Caesar. 
Portia, wife to Brutus. 

Senators, Citizens, Guards, Attendants, etc. 

Scene : Rome : the neighhourhood of Sar^di 



the neighhourhood of 



ACT FIRST. 

Scene I. — Rome. A street. 

Enter Flayius^ Maeullus, and certain Commoners. 

Flavius. Hence I iiome^ you idle creatures, get you 
home : 

Is this a holiday ? what ! know you not. 

Being mechanical, you ought not walk 

Upon a labouring day without the sign 

Of your profession ? Speak, what trade art thou ? 
First Commoner. Why, sir, a carpenter. 
Marullus. Where is thy leather apron and thy rule ? 

What dost thou with thy best apparel on ? 
• You, sir, what trade are you ? 

Second Commoner. Truly, sir, in respect of a fine work- 
man, I am but, as you would say, a cobbler. 11 
Marullus. But what trade art thou ? answer me 
directly. 

Second Commoner. A trade, sir, that, I hope, I may 
use with a safe conscience ; which is, indeed, sir, a mender 
of bad soles. 
Marullus. What trade, thou knave ? thou naughty 

knave, what trade ? 
Second Commoner, l^ay, I beseech you, sir, be not out 
with me: yet, if you be out, sir, I can mend you. 
Marullus. What meanest thou by that ? mend me, 
thou saucy fellow ! 21 



4 JULIUS CJESAB [Act I 

Secon^d Commoner. Why, sir, cobble you. 

Flavius. Thou art a cobbler, art thou ? 

Second Commoner. Truly, sir, all that I live by is 

with the awl: I meddle with no tradesman's matters, 

nor women's matters, but with awl. I am, indeed, sir, 

a surgeon to old shoes ; when they are in great danger, 

I recover them. As proper men as ever trod upon neat's 

leather have gone upon my handiwork. 

Playius. But wherefore art not in thy shop to-day ? 30 

Why dost thou lead these men about the streets ? 
Second Commoner. Truly, sir, to wear out their shoes, 
to get myself into more work. But, indeed, sir, we make 
holiday, to see Caesar, and to rejoice in his triumph. 
Marullus. Wherefore rejoice ? What conquest brings 
he home ? 
What tributaries follow him to Eome, 
To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels ? 
You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things ! 
you hard hearts, you cruel men of Eome, 
Knew you not Pompey ? Many a time and oft 40 

Have you climb'd up to walls and battlements. 
To towers and windows, yea, to chimney-tops, * 

Your infants in your arms, and there have sat 
The live-long day, with patient expectation. 
To see great Pompey pass the streets of Eome : 
And when you saw his chariot but appear. 
Have you not made an universal shout. 
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks. 
To hear the replication of your sounds 
Made in her concave shores ? 50 

And do you now put on your best attire ? 
And do you now cull out a holiday ? 
And do you now strew flowers in his way 
That comes in triumph over Pompey's blood ? 
Be gone ! 



Sc. II] JULIUS C^SAR 5 

Kun to your houses^ fall upon your knees. 
Pray to the gods to intermit the plague 
That needs must light on this ingratitude. 

Plavius. Go, go, good countrymen, and, for this fault. 
Assemble all the poor men of your sort ; 60 

Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears 
Into the channel, till the lowest stream 
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all. 

[Exeimt all the Commoners. 
See, whether their basest metal be not movM ; 
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. 
Gro you down that way towards the Capitol ; 
This way will I : disrobe the images. 
If you do find them deck^'d with ceremonies. 

Marullus. May we do so ? 

You know it is the feast of Lupercal. 70 

Flavius. It is no matter ; let no images 
Be hung with Csesar^s trophies. Til about. 
And drive away the vulgar from the streets : 
So do you too, where you perceive them thick. 
These growing feathers plucked from Oaesar^s wing 
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch. 
Who else would soar above the view of men 
And keep us all in servile fearfulness. [Exeunt. 



ScEN'E II. — A 'public place. 

Flourisli. Enter Q>m%K^\ A^to^y, for the course ; Cal- 
puRi^-iA, Portia, Decius, Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, 
and Casca ; a great croiod following, among them a 
Soothsayer. 

C^SAR. Calpurnia ! 

Casca. Peace, ho ! Caesar speaks. 

\Music ceases. 



6 JULIUS C^SAR [Act I 

C^SAR. Oalpurnia \ 

Calpuen"IA. Here, my lord. 

O^SAE. Stand you directly in Antonius' way. 

When he doth run his course. Antonius ! 
Antojstt. Caesar, my lord ? 
O^SAR. Forget not, in your speed, Antonius, 

To touch Calpurnia ; for our elders say. 

The barren, touched in this holy chase. 

Shake off their sterile curse. 
An'TON'T. I shall remember : 

When C^sar says, ''''Do this," it is performM. 10 

C^SAR. Set on ; and leave no ceremony out. [Flourish, 
Soothsayer. Caesar ! 
C^SAR. Ha ! who calls ? 

Casca. Bid every noise be still : peace yet again ! 
O^SAR. Who is it in the press that calls on me ? 

I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music. 

Cry '' Caesar \" Speak ; Caesar is turned to hear. 
Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March. 
C^SAR. What man is that ? 

Brutus. A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March. 
O^SAR. Set him before me ; let me see his face. 20 

Oassius. Fellow, come from the throng ; look upon 

Caesar. 
C^SAR. What say^st thou to me now ? speak once again. 
Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March. 
C^SAR. He is a dreamer ; let us leave him : pass. 

[Sennet. Exeunt all but Brutus and Cassius. 
Cassius. Will you go see the order of the course ? 
Brutus. Not I. 
Cassius. I pray you, do. 
Brutus. I am not gamesome : I do lack some part 

Of that quick spirit that is in Antony. 

Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires ; 30 

ril leave you. 



Sc. II] JULIUS GJESAR 7 

Cassius. Brutus, I do observe you now of late : 
I have not from your eyes that gentleness 
And show of love as I was wont to have : 
You bear too stubborn and too strange a hand 
Over your friend that loves you. 

Brutus. Cassius, 

Be not deceived : if I have veird my look, 
I turn the trouble of my countenance 
Merely upon myself. Vexed I am 
Of late with passions of some difference, 40 

Conceptions only proper to myself. 
Which give some soil perhaps to my behaviours ; 
But let not therefore my good friends be grieved — 
Among which number, Cassius, be you one — 
Nor construe any further my neglect. 
Than that poor Brutus, with himself at war. 
Forgets the shows of love to other men. 

Cassius. Then, Brutus, I have much mistook your 
passion ; 
By means v^hereof this breast of mine hath buried 
Thoughts of great value, worthy cogitations. 50 

Tell me, good Brutus, can you see your face ? 

Brutus. No, Cassius ; for the eye sees not itself. 
But by reflection by some other things. 

Cassius. "^Tis just : 

And it is very much lamented, Brutus, 

That you have no such mirrors as will turn 

Your hidden worthiness into your eye. 

That you might see your shadow. I have heard. 

Where many of the best respect in Rome, 

Except immortal Caesar, speaking of Brutus 60 

And groaning underneath this age^s yoke. 

Have wisVd that noble Brutus had his eyes. 

Brutus. Into what dangers would you lead me, Cas- 
sius^ 



8 JULIUS G^SAR [Act I 

That you would have me seek into myself 

For that which is not in me ? 
Cassius. Therefore, good Brutus, be prepared to 
hear : 

And since you know you cannot see yourself 

So well as by reflection, I, your glass. 

Will modestly discover to yourself 

That of yourself which you yet know not of. 70 

And be not jealous on me, gentle Brutus : 

Were I a common laugher, or did use 

To stale with ordinary oaths my love 

To every new protester ; if you know 

That I do fawn on men and hug them hard 

And after scandal them ; or if you know 

That. I profess myself in banqueting 

To all the rout, then hold me dangerous. 

[Flourish and shout. 
Brutus. What means this shouting ? I do fear, the 
people 

Choose Caesar for their king. 
Cassius. Ay, do you fear it ? 80 

Then must I think you would not have it so. 
Brutus. I would not, Cassius ; yet I love him well. 

But wherefore do you hold me here so long ? 

What is it that you would impart to me ? 

If it be aught toward the general good. 

Set honour in one eye and death i"* the other. 

And I will look on both indifferently : 

For let the gods so speed me as I love 

The name of honour more than I fear death. 
Cassius. I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus, 90 

As well as I do know your outward favour. 

Well, honour is the subject of my story. 

I cannot tell what you and other men 

Think of this life ; but, for my single self, 



Sc. II] JULIUS CJESAE 9 

I had as lief not be as live to be 

In awe of such a thing as I myself. 

I was born free as Caesar ; so were you : 

We both have fed as well, and we can both 

Endure the winter's cold as well as he : 

For once, upon a raw and gusty day, 100 

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores, 

Osesar said to me, " Dar'st thou, Cassius, now 

Leap in with me into this angry flood. 

And swim to yonder point ? " Upon the word^ 

Accoutred as I was, I plunged in 

And bade him follow : so indeed he did. 

The torrent roar'd, and we did buffet it 

With lusty sinews, throwing it aside 

And stemming it with hearts of controversy ; 

But ere we could arrive the point proposM, 116 

Caesar cried, '''Help me, Cassius, or I sink I'' 

I, as ^neas, our great ancestor. 

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulder 

The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber 

Did I the tired Caesar : and this man 

Is now become a god, and Cassius is 

A wretched creature, and must bend his body. 

If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 

He had a fever when he was in Spain, 

And when the fit was on him, I did mark 120 

How he did shake : ^tis true, this god did shake : 

His coward lips did from their colour fly. 

And that same eye whose bend doth awe the world 

Did lose his lustre : I did hear him groan : 

Ay, and that tongue of his that bade the Eomans 

Mark him and write his speeches in their books, 

Alas, it cried, '' Give me some drink, Titinius," 

As a sick girl. Ye gods ! it doth amaze me 

A man of such a feeble temper should 



10 JULIUS C^SAR [Act 1 

So get the start of the majestic world 130 

And bear the palm alone. \^Shout. Flourish, 

Beutus. Another general shout ! 
I do believe that these applauses are 
For some new honours that are heaped on Caesar. 

Cassius. Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world 
Like a Colossus, and we petty men 
Walk under his huge legs and peep about 
To find ourselves dishonourable graves. 
Men at some time are masters of their fates : 
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, 140 

But in ourselves, that we are underlings. 
Brutus and Caesar : what should be in that '' Caesar " ? 
Why should that name be sounded more than yours ? 
Write them together, yours is as fair a name ; 
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well ; 
Weigh them, it is as heavy ; conjure with 'em, 
'^Brutus'' will start a spirit as soon as " Caesar. '' 
Now, in the names of all the gods at once. 
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed. 
That he is grown so great ? Age, thou art shamM ! 
Kome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods ! 151 
When went there by an age, since the great flood. 
But it was fam'd with more than with one man ? 
When could they say till now, that talked of Eome, 
That her wide walls encompassed but one man ? 
.Now is it Eome indeed and room enough. 
When there is in it but one only man. 
0, you and I have heard our fathers say. 
There was a Brutus once that would have brooked 
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome 160 

As easily as a king. 

Brutus. That you do love me, I am nothing jealous ; 
What you would work me to, I have some aim : 
How I have thought of this and of these times. 



Sc. II] JULIUS C^SAR 11 

I shall recount hereafter ; for this present, 

I would not, so with love I might entreat you. 

Be any further mov'd. What you have said 

I will consider ; what you have to say 

I will with patience hear, and find a time 

Both meet to hear and answer such high things. 170 

Till then, my noble friend, chew upon this : 

Brutus had rather be a villager 

Than to repute himself a son of Eome 

Under these hard conditions as this time 

Is like to lay upon us. 

Cassius. I am glad that my weak words 

Have struck but thus much show of fire from Brutus. 

Brutus. The games are done and Caesar is returning. 

Cassius. As they pass by, pluck Casca by the sleeve ; 
And he will, after his sour fashion, tell you 180 

What hath proceeded worthy note to-day. 

Re-enter C^sar and his Train. 

Brutus. I will do so. But, look you, Cassius, 
The angry spot doth glow on Caesar's brow. 
And all the rest look like a chidden train : 
Calpurnia's cheek is pale ; and Cicero 
Looks with such ferret and such fiery eyes 
As we have seen him in the Capitol, 
Being crossed in conference by some senators. 

Cassius. Casca will tell us what the matter is. 

C^SAR. Antonius ! 190 

An^toity. Caesar ? 

CAESAR. Let me have men about me that are fat. 
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o' nights : 
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look ; 
He thinks too much : such men are dangerous. 

Akton"Y. Fear him not, Caesar ; he's not dangerous ; 
He is a noble Roman and well given. 



12 JULIUS CJESAR [Act I 

C^SAR. Would he were fatter ! But I fear him not : 
Yet if my name were liable to fear^ 
I do not know the man I should avoid 200 

So soon as that spare Oassius. He reads much ; 
He is a great observer, and he looks 
Quite through the deeds of men ; he loves no plays. 
As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music ; 
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort 
As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit 
That could be mov'd to smile at any thing. 
Such men as he be never at heart's ease 
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves. 
And therefore are they very dangerous. 210 

I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd 
Than what I fear ; for always I am Caesar. 
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf. 
And tell me truly what thou think'st of him. 
[Sennet. Exeunt O^sar and all Ms Train hut Casca. 

Casca. You puird me by the cloak ; would you speak 

with me ? 

Brutus. Ay, Casca ; tell us what hath chanced to-day. 
That Caesar looks so sad. 

Casca. Why, you were with him, were you not ? 219 

Brutus. I should not then ask Casca what had chanced. 

Casca. Why, there was a crown offered him : and being 

offered him, he put it by with the back of his hand, thus; 

and then the people fell a-shouting. 

Brutus. What was the second noise for ? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 

Cassius. They shouted thrice : what was the last cry for ? 

Casca. Why, for that too. 

Brutus. Was the crown offered him thrice ? 

Casca. Ay, marry, was't, and he put it by thrice, every 

time gentler than other ; and at every putting-by mine 

honest neighbours shouted. ' 231 



Sc. II] JULIUS C^SAR 13 

Cassius. Who offered liim the crown ? 
Oasca. Why, Antony. 

Beutus. Tell us the manner of it, gentle Casca. 
Casca. I can as well be hanged as tell the manner of it : 
it was mere foolery ; I did not mark it, I saw Mark 
Antony offer him a crown ; — yet "twas not a crown neither, 
'twas one of these coronets ; — and, as I told you, he put it 
by once : but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain 
have had it. Then he offered it to him again ; then he 
put it by again : but, to my thinking, he was very loath 
to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third 
time ; he put it the third time by : and still as he refused 
it, the rabblement shouted and clapped their chopt hands 
and threw up their sweaty nightcaps, and uttered such a 
deal of stinking breath because Caesar refused the crown, 
that it had almost choked Caesar ; for he swounded and 
fell down at it : and for mine own part, I durst not laugh, 
for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air. 
Cassius. But, soft, I pray you : what, did Caesar swound? 
Casca. He fell down in the market-place, and foamed at 
mouth, and was speechless. 252 

Brutus. 'Tis very like : he hath the falling sickness. 
Cassius. No, Caesar hath it not ; but you and I 

And honest Casca, we have the falling sickness. 
Casca. I know not what you mean by that ; but, I am 
sure, Caesar fell down. If the tag-rag people did not clap 
him and hiss him, according as he pleased and displeased 
them, as they use to do the players in the theatre, I am no 
true man. 260 

Brutus. What said he when he came unto himself ? 
Casca. Marry, before he fell down, when he perceived 
the common herd was glad he refused the crown, he 
plucked me ope his doublet and offered them his throat to 
cut. An I had been a man of any occupation, if I would 
not have taken him at a word, I would I might go to hell 



14 JULIUS G^SAR [Act I 

among the rogues. And so he fell. When he came to 

himself again, he said, if he had done or said any thing 

amiss, he desired their worships to think it was his 

infirmity. Three or four wenches, where I stood, cried 

" Alas, good soul ! " and forgave him with all their hearts: 

but there^'s no heed to be taken of them ; if Caesar had 

stabbed their mothers, they would have done no less. 

Brutus. And after that, he came, thus sad, away ? 274 

Casca. Ay. 

Cassius. Did Cicero say any thing ? 

Casca. Ay, he spoke Creek. 

Cassius. To what effect ? 

Casca. Nay, an I tell you that, Fll ne^er look you i^ the 

face again : but those that understood him smiled at one 

another and shook their heads ; but, for mine own part, it 

was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too : Marullus 

and Flavins, for pulling scarfs off Caesar^'s images, are put 

to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, 

if I could remember it. 285 

Cassius. Will you sup with me to-night, Casca ? 

Casca. No, I am promised forth. 

Cassius. Will you dine with me to-morrow ? 

Casca. Ay, if I be alive and your mind hold and your 

dinner worth the eating. 290 

Cassius. Good : I will expect you. 

Casca. Do so. Farewell, both. \^Exit, 

Brutus. What a blunt fellow is this grown to be ! 

He was quick mettle when he went to school. 
Cassius. So is he now in execution 
Of any bold or noble enterprise. 
However he puts on this tardy form. 
This rudeness is a sauce to his good wit. 
Which gives men stomach to digest his words 
With better appetite. 300 

Brutus. And so it is. For this time I will leave you : 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS C^SAR 15 

To-morrow, if you please to speak with me, 
I will come home to you ; or, if you will. 
Come home to me, and I will wait for you. 
Cassius. I will do so : till then, think of the world. 

[^Exit Brutus. 
Well, Brutus, thou art noble ; yet, I see. 
Thy honourable metal may be wrought 
From that it is disposed : therefore it is meet 
That noble minds keep ever with their likes ; 
For who so firm that cannot be seducM ? 310 

Caesar doth bear me hard ; but he loves Brutus : 
If I were Brutus now and he were Cassius, 
He should not humour me. I will this night. 
In several hands, in at his windows throw. 
As if they came from several citizens, 
Writings all tending to the great opinion 
That Eome holds of his name ; wherein obscurely 
Caesar's ambition shall be glanced at : 
And after this let Caesar seat him sure ; 319 

For we will shake him, or worse days endure. \_Exit^ 

ScEXE III. — A street. 

Thunder and liglitning. Enter, from opposite sides,. 
Casca, ivith his sivord draion, and Cicero. 

Cicero. Good even, Casca : brought you Caesar home ? 
Why are you breathless ? and why stare you so ? 

Casca. Are not you movM, when all the sway of earth 
Shakes like a thing unfirm ? Cicero, 
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
Have riv'd the knotty oaks, and I have seen 
The ambitious ocean swell and rage and foam. 
To be exalted with the threatening clouds : 
But never till to-night, never till now. 



16 JULIUS GJESAR [Act I 

Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 10 

Either there is a civil strife in heaven. 
Or else the world, too saiicy with the gods, 
Incenses them to send destruction. 

CiCEEO. Why, saw you any thing more wonderful ? 

Casca. a common slave — you know him well by sight — 
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn 
Like twenty torches joined, and yet his hand, 
Not sensible of fire, remainM unscorch'd. 
Besides — I ha^ not since put up my sword — 
Against the Capitol I met a lion, 20 

Who glared upon me, and went surly by. 
Without annoying me : and there were drawn 
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women. 
Transformed with their fear, who swore they saw 
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets. 
And yesterday the bird of night did sit 
Even at noon-day upon the market-place, 
Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies 
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say 
^' These are their reasons ; they are natural : " 30 

Eor, I believe, they are portentous things 
Unto the climate that they point upon. 

Cicero. Indeed, it is a strange-disposed time : 

But men may construe things after their fashion. 
Clean from the purpose of the things themselves. 
Comes Csesar to the Capitol to-morrow ? 

Casca. He doth ; for he did bid Antonius 

Send word to you he would be there to-morrow. 

CiCEEO. Good night then, Casca : this disturbed sky 39 
Is not to walk in. 

Casca. Earewell, Cicero. [Exit Cicero. 

Enter Cassius. 
Cassius. Who^s there ? 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS C^SAR 17 

Casca. a Eoman. 

Cassius. Casca^ by your yoice. 

Casca. Your ear is good. Cassius, what night is this ! 

Cassius. A very pleasing night to honest men. 

Casca. Who ever knew the heavens menace so ? 

Cassius. Those that have known the earth so full of 
faults. 
For my part, I have walked about the streets. 
Submitting me unto the perilous night. 
And thus unbraced, Casca, as you see. 
Have bar^d my bosom to the thunder-stone ; 
And when the cross blue lightning seemed to open 50 
The breast of heaven, I did present myself 
Even in the aim and very flash of it. 

Casca. But wherefore did you so much tempt the 
heavens ? 
It is the part of men to fear and tremble. 
When the most mighty gods by tokens send 
Such dreadful heralds to astonish us. 

Cassius. You are dull, Casca, and those sparks of life 
That should be in a Eoman you do want. 
Or else you use not. You look pale and gaze 
And put on fear and cast yourself in wonder, 60 

To see the strange impatience of the heavens : 
But if you would consider the true cause 
Why all these fires, why all these gliding ghosts, 
Why birds and beasts from quality and kind, 
AYhy old men fool and children calculate. 
Why all these things change from their ordinance. 
Their natures and preformed faculties. 
To monstrous quality, why, you shall find 
That heaven hath infused them with these spirits, 
To make them instruments of fear and warning 70 
Unto some monstrous state. 
Xow could I, Casca, name to thee a man 
2 



18 JULIUS G^SAR [Act I 

Most like this dreadful night. 

That thunders, lightens, opens graves, and roars 

As doth the lion in the Capitol, 

A man no mightier than thyself or me 

In personal action, yet prodigious grown 

And fearful, as these strange eruptions are. 
Casca. ^Tis Caesar that you mean ; is it not, Cassius ? 
Cassius. Let it be who it is : for Eomans now 80 

Have thews and limbs like to their ancestors ; 

But, woe the while ! our fathers^ minds are dead. 

And we are governed with our mothers^ spirits ; 

Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish. 
Casca. Indeed, they say the senators to-morrow 

Mean to establish Caesar as a king ; 

And he shall wear his crown by s«a and land. 

In every place, save here in Italy. 
Cassius. I know where I will wear this dagger then : 

Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius. 90 

Therein, ye gods, you make the weak most strong ; 

Therein, ye gods, you tyrants do defeat : 

]^or stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, 

]^or airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron. 

Can be retentive to the strength of spirit ; 

But life, being weary of these worldly bars, 

ISTever lacks power to dismiss itself. 

If I know this, know all the world besides. 

That part of tyranny that I do bear 

I can shake off at pleasure. [Tliunder still. 

Casca. So can 1 : 100 

So every bondman in his own hand bears 

The power to cancel his captivity. 
Cassius. And why should Caesar be a tyrant then ? 

Poor man ! I know he would not be a wolf, 

But that he sees the Eomans are but sheep : 

He were no lion, were not Eomans hinds. 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS C^SAR 19 

Those that with haste will make a mighty fire 

Begin it with weak straws : what trash is Rome, 

What rubbish and what offal, when it serves 

For the base matter to illuminate 110 

So vile a thing as C^sar ! But, grief. 

Where hast thou led me ? I perhaps speak this 

Before a willing bondman ; then I know 

My answer must be made. But I am arm^d. 

And dangers are to me indifferent. 

Casca. You speak to Casca, and to such a man 
That is no fleering tell-tale. Hold, my hand : 
Be factious for redress of all these griefs. 
And I will set this foot of mine as far 
As who goes farthest. 

Cassius. There ^s a bargain made. 120 

Now know you, Casca, I have mov^d already 
Some certain of the noblest-minded Romans 
To undergo with me an enterprise 
Of honourable-dangerous consequence ; 
And I do know, by this they stay for me 
In Pompey^s porch : for now, this fearful night. 
There is no stir or walking in the streets ; 
And the complexion of the element 
In favour ^s like the work we have in hand. 
Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. 130 

Enter Oikka. 

Casca. Stand close awhile, for here comes one in haste. 
Cassius. ^Tis Cinna; I do know him by his gait ; 

He is a friend. Cinna, where haste you so ? 
CiN"if A. To find out you. Who's that ? Metellus Cim- 

ber ? 
Cassius. ]^o, it is Casca ; one incorporate 

To our attempts. Am I not stayed for, Cinna ? 



20 JULIUS G^SAR [Act 1 

CiNKA. I am glad on ^t. What a fearful night is this ! 

There ^s two or three of us have seen strange sights. 
Cassius. Am I not stay'd for ? tell me. 
CiN^NA. Yes, yoii are. 

Cassius, if you could 140 

But win the noble Brutus to our party — 
Cassius. Be you content : good Cinna, take this paper. 

And look you lay it in the prsetor^s chair. 

Where Brutus may but find it ; and throw this 

In at his window ; set this u|) with wax 

Upon old Brutus^ statue : all this done, 

Eepair to Pompey^s porch, where you shall find us. 

Is Decius Brutus and Trebonius there ? 
CiNNA. All but Metellus Cimber ; and he's gone 

To seek you at your house. Well, I will hie, 150 

And so bestow these papers as you bade me. 
Cassius. That done, repair to Pompey's theatre. 

[Exit Cinka. 

Come, Casca, you and I will yet ere day 

See Brutus at his house : three parts of him 

Is ours already, and the man entire 

Upon the next encounter yields him ours. 
Casca. 0, he sits high in all the people's hearts ; 

And that which would appear offence in us. 

His countenance, like richest alchemy. 

Will change to virtue and to worthiness. 160 

Cassius. Him and his worth and our great need of him 

You have right well conceited. Let us go. 

For it is after midnight, and ere day 

We will awake him and be sure of him. [Exeunt. 



ACT SEOON^D. 
Scene I. — Rome. Brutits's orehard. 

Enter Brutus. 

Brutus. What, Lucius, ho ! 

I cannot, by the progress of the stars. 

Give guess how near to day. Lucius, I say ! 

I would it were my fault to sleep so soundly. 

When, Lucius, when ? awake, I say ! what, Lucius ! 

Enter Lucius. 

Lucius. OalFd you, my lord ? 

Brutus. Get me a taper in my study, Lucius : 
When it is lighted, come and call me here. 

Lucius. I will, my lord. [Exit. 

Brutus. It must be by his death : and for my part, 10 
I know no personal cause to spurn at him, 
But for the generaL He would be crown^'d : 
How that might change his nature, there 's the ques- 
tion. 
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder ; 
And that craves wary walking. Crown him ? — that ;— 
And then, I grant, we put a sting in him. 
That at his will he may do danger with. 
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins 
Eemorse from power : and, to speak truth of Caesar, 
I have not known when his affections swayM 20 

More than his reason. But ^tis a common proof 



22 JULIUS C^SAR [Act II 

That lowliness is young ambition^s ladder. 

Whereto the climber-upward turns his face ; 

But when he once attains the upmost rounds 

He then unto the ladder turns his back^ 

Looks in the clouds^ scorning the base degrees 

By which he did ascend : so Caesar may ; 

Then, lest he may, prevent. And, since the quarrel 

Will bear no colour for the thing he is. 

Fashion it thus ; that what he is, augmented, 30 

Would run to these and these extremities : 

And therefore think him as a serpent^s Qgg 

Which, hatched, would, as his kind, grow mischievous. 

And kill him in the shell. 

Re-enter Lucius. 

Lucius. The taper burneth in your closet, sir. 
Searching the window for a flint I found 
This paper thus seal^'d up, and I am sure 
It did not lie there when I went to bed. 

[ Gives Mm the letter, 

Brutus. Get you to bed again ; it is not day. 

Is not to-morrow, boy, the ides of March ? 40 

Lucius. I know not, sir. 

Beutus. Look in the calendar, and bring me word. 

Lucius. I will, sir. [Exit. 

Brutus. The exhalations whizzing in the air 
Give so much light that I may read by them. 

[ Opens the letter and reads. 
'^ Brutus, thou sleep^st : awake, and see thyself. 
Shall Rome, etc. Speak, strike, redress ! 
Brutus, thou sleep^st : awake ! " 
Such instigations have been often dropped 
Where I have took them up. 50 

" Shall Eome, etc.^' Thus must I piece it out : 
Shall Rome stand under one man's awe ? What, Eome ? 



Sc. I] JULIUS CMSAR 23 

My ancestors did from the streets of Rome 

The Tarquin drive, when he was caird a king. 

'^ Speak, strike, redress ! " Am I entreated 

To speak and strike ? Rome, I make thee promise. 

If the redress will follow, thou receivest 

Thy full petition at the hand of Brutus ! 

Re-enter Lucius. 

Lucius. Sir, March is wasted fifteen days. 59 

^Knocking within. 
Beutus. ^Tis good. Go to the gate ; somebody knocks. 

[^Exit Lucius. 

Since Oassius first did whet me against Osesar, 

I have not slept. 

Between the acting of a dreadful thing 

And the first motion, all the interim is 

Like a phantasma, or a hideous dream : 

The genius and the mortal instruments 

Are then in council ; and the state of man, • 

Like to a little kingdom, suffers then 

The nature of an insurrection. 

Re-enter Lucius. 

Lucius. Sir, ^tis your brother Cassius at the door, 70 

Who doth desire to see you. 
Brutus. Is he alone ? 

Lucius. No, sir, there are moe with him. 
Brutus. Do you know them ? 

Lucius. No, sir ; their hats are pluckM about their ears, 

And half their faces buried in their cloaks. 

That by no means I may discover them 

By any mark of favour. 
Brutus. Let ^em enter. [Exit Lucius. 

They are the faction. conspiracy, 

Sham'st thou to show thy dangerous brow by night. 



24 JULIUS Cu^SAR [Act II 

When evils are most free ? 0, then^ by day 
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough 80 

To mask thy monstrous visage ? Seek none^ conspi- 
racy ; 
Hide it in smiles and affability : 
For if thou path, thy native semblance on, 
Not Erebus itself were dim enough 
To hide thee from prevention. 

Enter the Conspirator Sy Cassius, Oasca, Decius, Cik^vTA, 
Metellus Oimber, and Trebo^N'ius. 

Oassius. I think we are too bold upon your rest : 

Grood morrow, Brutus ; do we trouble you ? 
Brutus. I have been up this hour, awake all night. 

Know I these men that come along with you ? 
Cassius. Yes, every man of them : and no man here 90 

But honours you ; and every one doth wish 

You had but that opinion of yourself 

Which every noble Eoman bears of you. 

This is Trebonius. 
Brutus. He is welcome hither. 

Cassius. This, Decius Brutus. 
Brutus. He is welcome too. 

Cassius. This, Casca ; this, Cinna ; and this, Metellus 

Cimber. 
Brutus. They are all welcome. 

What watchful cares do interpose themselves 

Betwixt your eyes and night ? 
Cassius. Shall I entreat a word ? . 100 

[Brutus and Cassius whisper. 
Decius. Here lies the east : doth not the day break here ? 
Casca. No. 
CiNN"A. 0, pardon, sir, it doth ; and yon gray lines 

That fret the clouds are messengers of day. 
Casca. You shall confess that you are both deceived. 



Sc. I] JULIUS CJESAR 25 

Here^ as I point my sword, the sun arises, 

Which is a great way growing on the souths 

Weighing the youthful season of the year. 

Some two months hence up higher toward the north 

He first presents his fire ; and the high east 110 

Stands, as the Capitol, directly here. 

Brutus. Give me your hands all over, one by one. 

Cassius. And let us swear our resolution. 

Brutus, ^o, not an oath : if not the face of men, 
The sufferance of our souls, the time's abuse, — 
If these be motives weak, break off betimes, 
And every man hence to his idle bed ; 
So let high-sighted tyranny range on, 
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these, 
As I am sure they do, bear fire enough 120 

To kindle cowards and to steel with valour 
The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen. 
What need we any spur but our own cause, 
To prick us to redress ? what other bond 
Than secret Romans, that have spoke the word. 
And will not palter ? and what other oath 
Than honesty to honesty engag'd. 
That this shall be, or we will fall for it ? 
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous. 
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls 130 

That welcome wrongs ; unto bad causes swear 
Such creatures as men doubt ; but do not stain 
The even virtue of our enterprise. 
Nor the insuppressive mettle of our spirits. 
To think that or our cause or our performance 
Did need an oath; when every drop of blood 
That every Roman bears, and nobly bears. 
Is guilty of a several bastardy, 
If he do break the smallest particle 
Of any promise that hath passed from him. 140 



36 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

Cassius. But what of Cicero ? shall we sound him ? 
I think he will stand very strong with us. 

Casca. Let us not leave him out. 

CiNKA. No, by no means. 

Metellus. 0, let us have him, for his silver hairs 
Will purchase us a good opinion 
And buy men^s voices to commend our deeds : 
It shall be said, his judgement ruFd our hands ; 
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear. 
But all be buried in his gravity. 

Brutus. 0, name him not : let us not break with him : 
For he will never follow any thing 151 

That other men begin. 

Cassius. Then leave him out. 

Casca. Indeed he is not fit. 

Decius. Shall no man else be touch'd but only Caesar ? 

Cassius. Decius, well urg^d : I think it is not meet, 
Mark Antony, so well beloved of Caesar, 
Should outlive Caesar : we shall find of him 
A shrewd contriver ; and you know his means. 
If he improve them, may well stretch so far 
As to annoy us all : which to prevent, 160 

Let Antony and Caesar fall together. 

Brutus. Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius, 
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs. 
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards ; 
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar : 
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius. 
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar ; 
And in the spirit of men there is no blood : 
0, that we then could come by Caesars spirit. 
And not dismember Caesar ! But, alas, 170 

Caesar must bleed for it ! And, gentle friends. 
Let's kill him boldly, but not wrathfully ; 
Let's carve him as a dish fit for the gods. 



Sc. I] JULIUS C^SAR 27 

]N"ot hew him as a carcass fit for hounds : 

And let our hearts, as subtle masters do. 

Stir up their servants to an act of rage. 

And. after seem to chide ^em. This shall make 

Our purpose necessary and not envious : 

Which so appearing to the common eyes. 

We shall be calFd purgers, not murderers. 180 

And for Mark Antony, think not of him ; 

Por he can do no more than C assarts arm 

When Caesar's head is off. 

Cassius. Yet I fear him ; 

For in the ingrafted love he bears to Cassar — 

Brutus. Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him : 
If he love Caesar, all that he can do 
Is to himself, take thought and die for Csesar : 
And that were much he should ; for he is given 
To sports, to wildness and much company. 189 

Treboi^ius. There is no fear in him ; let Him not die ; 
For he will live, and laugh at this hereafter. 

[Cloch strikes. 

Brutus. Peace ! count the clock. 

Cassius. The clock hath stricken three. 

TREBOiTius. ^Tis time to part. 

Cassius. But it is doubtful yet. 

Whether Cassar will come forth to-day, or no ; 
For he is superstitious grown of late. 
Quite from the main opinion he held once 
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies : 
It may be, these apparent prodigies. 
The unaccustomed terror of this night. 
And the persuasion of his augurers, 200 

May hold him from the Capitol to-day. 

Decius. Never fear that : if he be so resolved, 
I can o^ersway him ; for he loves to hear 
That unicorns may be betrayed with trees. 



28 JULIUS GJESAR [Act II 

And bears with glasses, elephants with holes. 

Lions with toils, and men with flatterers ; 

But when 1 tell him he hates flatterers. 

He says he does, being then most flattered. 

Let me work ; 

For I can give his humour the true bent, 210 

And I will bring him to the Capitol. 
■Cassius. Nay, we will all of us be there to fetch him. 
Brutus. By the eighth hour : is that the uttermost ? 
CiNis'A. Be that the uttermost, and fail not then. 
JMetellus. Caius Ligarius doth bear Cassar hard. 

Who rated him for speaking well of Pompey : 

I wonder none of you have thought of him. 
Brutus. Now, good Metellus, go along by him : 

He loves me well, and I have given him reasons ; 

Send him but hither, and Fll fashion him. 220 

Cassius. The morning comes upon "s : well leave you, 
Brutus. 

And, friends, disperse yourselves ; but all remember 

What you have said, and show yourselves true Eomans, 
Brutus. Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily ; 

Let not our looks put on our purposes ; 

But bear it as our Eoman actors do. 

With untir'd spirits and formal constancy : 

And so, good morrow to you every one. 

[Exeunt all hut Brutus. 
■ Boy ! Lucius ! Fast asleep ? It is no matter ; 

Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber : 230 

Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies. 

Which busy care draws in the brains of men ; 

Therefore thou sleep'st so sound. 

Enter Portia. 

Portia. Brutus, my lord ! 

Brutus. Portia, what mean you ? wherefore rise you now ? 



Sc. I] JULIUS C^SAR 29 

It is not for your health thus to commit 
Your weak condition to the raw cold morning. 

Portia. N"or for yours neither. YouVe ungently, Brutus, 
Stole from my bed : and yesternight, at supper. 
You suddenly arose, and walked about, 
Musing and sighing, with your arms across ; 240 

And when I ask'd you what the matter was, 
You stared upon me with ungentle looks ; 
I urg'd you further ; then you scratched your head. 
And too impatiently stamped with your foot ; 
Yet I insisted, yet you answered not. 
But, with an angry wafture of your hand. 
Gave sign for me to leave you : so I did.; 
Fearing to strengthen that impatience 
Which seemed too much enkindled, and withal 
Hoping it was but an effect of humour, 250 

Which sometime hath his hour with every man. 
It will not let you eat, nor talk, nor sleep. 
And could it work so much upon your shape 
As it hath much prevaiFd on your condition, 
I should not know you, Brutus. Dear my lord. 
Make me acquainted with your cause of grief. 

Brutus. I am not well in health, and that is all. 

Portia. Brutus is wise, and, were he not in health. 
He would embrace the means to come by it. 

Brutus. Why, so I do. Good Portia, go to bed. 260 

Portia. Is Brutus sick ? and is it physical 
To walk unbraced and suck up the humours 
Of the dank morning ? What, is Brutus sick, 
And will he steal out of his wholesome bed. 
To dare the vile contagion of the night 
And tempt the rheumy and unpurged air 
To add unto his sickness ? No, my Brutus ; 
You have some sick oifence within your mind, 
Wliich, by the right and virtue of my place. 



30 JULIUS CMSAR [Act II 

I ought to know of : and^ upon my knees, 270 

I charm you, by my once commended beauty. 

By all your vows of love and that great vow 

Which did incorporate and make us one. 

That you unfold to me, yourself, your half. 

Why you are heavy, and what men to-night 

Have had resort to you : for here have been 

Some six or seven, who did hide their faces 

Even from darkness. 

Brutus. Kneel not, gentle Portia. 

PonTiA. I should not need, if you were gentle Brutus. 
Within the bond of marriage, tell me, Brutus, 280 

Is it excepted I should know no secrets 
That appertain to you ? Am I yourself 
But, as it were, in sort or limitation. 
To keep with you at meals, comfort your bed. 
And talk to you sometimes ? Dwell I but in the 

suburbs 
Of your good pleasure ? 

Brutus. You are my true and honourable wife, 
As dear to me as are the ruddy drops 
That visit my sad heart. 290 

Portia. If this were true, then should I know this secret. 
I grant I am a woman ; but withal 
A woman that Lord Brutus took to wife : 
I grant I am a woman ; but withal 
A woman well-reputed, Oato^s daughter. 
Think you I am no stronger than my sex. 
Being so fathered and so husbanded ? 
Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ^em : 
I have made strong proof of my constancy. 
Giving myself a voluntary wound 300 

Here in the thigh : can I bear that with patience. 
And not my husband^s secrets ? 



Sc. I] JULIUS G^SAR 31 

Brutus. ye gods. 

Render me worthy of this noble wife ! 

\^Knocking luitMn. 
Hark, hark ! one knocks : Portia, go in a while ; 
And by and by thy bosom shall partake 
The secrets of my heart. 
All my engagements I will construe to thee. 
All the charactery of my sad brows : 
Leave me with haste. [Exit Poetia. ] Lucius, who "s 
that knocks ? 

Re-enter Lucius luitli Ligaeius. 

Lucius. Here is a sick man that would speak with you. 
Brutus. Caius Ligarius, that Metellus spake of. 311 

Boy, stand aside. Caius Ligarius ! how ? 
LiGAEius. Vouchsafe good morrow from a feeble tongue. 
Beutus. 0, what a time have you chose out, brave Caius, 

To wear a kerchief ! Would you were not sick ! 
LiGAEius. I am not sick, if Brutus have in hand 

Any exploit worthy the name of honour. 
Beutus. Such an exploit have I in hand, Ligarius, 

Had you a healthful ear to hear of it. 
LiGAEius. By all the gods that Romans bow before, 320 

I here discard my sickness ! Soul of Rome ! 

Brave son, derivM from honourable loins ! 

Thou, like an exorcist, hast conjur'd up 

My mortified spirit. N^ow bid me run. 

And I will strive with things impossible. 

Yea, get the better of them. What "s to do ? 
Beutus. A piece of work that will make sick men whole. 
LiGAEius. But are not some whole that we must make 

sick ? 
Beutus. That must we also. What it is, my Caius, 

I shall unfold to thee, as we are going 330 

To whom it must be done. 



32 JULIUS C^SAR [Act II 

LiGAEius. Set on your foot. 

And with a heart new-fir^d I follow you. 
To do I know not what : but it sufficeth 
That Brutus leads me on. 

Brutus. Follow me, then. \_Exeunt. 



ScEKE II. — CcBsar's house. 

TJmnder and lightning. Enter O^sar, in his night-gown. 

C.T.SAR. E'or heaven nor earth have been at peace to- 
night : 
Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out, 
'^Help, ho ! they murder Caesar ! '' Who^s within ? 

Enter a Servant. 

Servant. My lord ? 

C.^SAR. Gro bid the priests do present sacrifice 

And bring me their opinions of success. 
Servant. I will, my lord. [Exit. 

Enter Calpurnia. 

Calpurnia. What mean you, Osesar ? think you to walk 
forth ? 

You shall not stir out of your house to-day. 
•C.^sar. Caesar shall forth : the things that threatened 
me 10 

Ne^er look'd but on my back ; when they shall see 

The face of Caesar, they are vanished. 
Calpurnia. Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies. 

Yet now they fright me. There is one within. 

Besides the things that we have heard and seen, 

Kecounts most horrid sights seen by the watch. 

A lioness hath whelped in the streets ; 

And graves have yawn'd, and yielded up their dead ; 



Sc. II] JULIUS CJESAR 33 

Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds. 

In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, 20 

Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol ; 

The noise of battle hurtled in the air. 

Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan. 

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about tha streets. 

Csesar ! these things are beyond all use. 

And I do fear them. 
Cesar. What can be avoided 

Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods ? 

Yet Csesar shall go forth ; for these predictions 

Are to the world in general as to Csesar. 29 

Calpuenia. When beggars die, there are no comets seen ; 

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of 
princes. 
C.ESAE. Cowards die many times before their deaths ; 

The valiant never taste of death but once. 

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard. 

It seems to me most strange that men should fear ; 

Seeing that death, a necessary end, 

Will come when it will come. 

Re-enter Servant. 

What say the augurers ? 
Serva^s^t. They would not have you to stir forth to-day. 

Plucking the entrails of an offering forth, 

They could not find a heart within the beast. 40 

CjiSAR. The gods do this in shame of cowardice : 

Cassar should be a beast without a heart. 

If he should stay at home to-day for fear. 

No, Caesar shall not : danger knows full well 

That Caesar is more dangerous than he : 

We are two lions littered in one day. 

And I the elder and more terrible : 

And Csesar shall go forth. 
3 



34 JULIUS G^SAR [Act II 

Calpurn'IA. Alas, my lord. 

Your wisdom is consumed in confidence. 

Do not go forth to-day : call it my fear 50 

That keeps you in the house, and not your own. 

We^ll send Mark Antony to the senate-house ; 

And he, shall say you are not well to-day : 

Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this. 
C^SAR. Mark Antony shall say I am not well ; 

And, for thy humour, I will stay at home. 

Enter Decius. 

Here ^s Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so. 

Decius. O^sar, all hail ! good morrow, worthy Caesar : 
I come to fetch you to the senate-house. 

C^SAR. And you are come in very happy time, 6C 

To bear my greeting to the senators 
And tell them that I will not come to-day : 
Cannot, is false, and that I dare not, falser : 
I will not come to-day : tell them so, Decius. 

CALPURiiTiA. Say he is sick. 

C^SAR. Shall Caesar send a lie ? 

Have I in conquest stretched mine arm so far, 
To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth ? 
Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come. 

Decius. Most mighty Caesar, let me know some cause. 
Lest I be laughM at when I tell them so. 70 

C^SAR. The cause is in my will : I will not come ; 
That is enough to satisfy the senate. 
But for your private satisfaction. 
Because I love you, I will let you know. 
Calpurnia here, my wife, stays me at home : 
She dreamt to-night she saw my statue. 
Which, like a fountain with an hundred spouts. 
Did run pure blood, and many lusty Komans 
Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it : 79 



Sc. II] JULIUS C^SAR '■ 35 

And these does she apply for warnings, and portents. 
And evils imminent ; and on her knee 
Hath begged that I will stay at home to-day. 

Decius. This dream is all amiss interpreted ; 
It was a vision fair and fortunate : 
Your statue spouting blood in many pipes. 
In which so many smiling Eomans bathed. 
Signifies that from you great Eome shall suck 
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press 
For tinctures, stains, relics and cognizance. 
This by Calpurnia^s dream is signified. 90 

C^SAR. And this way have you well expounded it. 

Decius. I have, when you have heard what I can say : 
And know it now : the senate have concluded 
To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar. 
If you shall send them word you will not come. 
Their minds may change. Besides, it were a mock 
Apt to be rendered, for some one to say, 
^^ Break up the senate till another time. 
When Csesar^s wife shall meet with better dreams." 
If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper, 100 

^''Lo, Caesar is afraid" ? 
Pardon me, Caesar ; for my dear, dear love 
To your proceeding bids me tell you this. 
And reason to my love is liable. 

C^SAE. How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia ! 
I am ashamed I did yield to them. 
Give me my robe, for I will go. 

Enter Publius, Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca, 
Treboi^ius, and Cini^a. 

And look where Publius is come to fetch me. 
Publius. Good morrow, Caesar. 
C^SAR. Welcome, Publius. 

What, Brutus, are you stirred so early too ? 110 



36 JULIUS G^SAR [Act II 

Good morrow, Casca. Caius Ligarius. 

Caesar was ne'er so much your euemy 

As that same ague which hath made you lean. 

What is 't o'clock ? 
Brutus. Caesar, 'tis strucken eight. 

C^SAR. I thank you for your pains and courtesy.* 

Enter Antoi^y. 

See ! Antony, that revels long o' nights. 

Is notwithstanding up. Grood morrow, Antony. 
Aktoi^y. So to most noble Caesar. 
C^SAR. Bid them prepare within : 

I am to blame to be thus waited for. 

!N'ow, Cinna : now, Metellus : what, Trebonius ! 120 

I have an hour's talk in store for you ; 

Eemember that you call on me to-day * 

Be near me, that I may remember you, 
Trebokius. Caesar, I will : [Aside] and so near will I be. 

That your best friends shall wish I had been further. 
C^SAR. Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with 
me ; 

And we, like friends, will straightway go together. 
Brutus. [Aside.] That every like is not the same, 
Caesar, 

The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon ! [Exeunt. 



Scene III. — A street near the Capitol. 

Enter Artemidorus, reading a paper. 

Artemidorus. " Csesar, beware of Brutus ; take heed of 
Cassius ; come not near Casca ; have an eye to Cinna ; 
trust not Trebonius ; mark well Metellus Cimber ; Decius 
Brutus loves thee not ; thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. 
There is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent 



Sc. IV] JULIUS C^SAR 37 

against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, look about 
you : security gives way to conspiracy. The mighty gods 
defend thee ! Thy lover, Artemidoeus." 

Here will I stand till Cassar pass along, 

And as a suitor will I give him this. 10- 

My heart laments that virtue cannot live 

Out of the teeth of emulation. 
. If thou read this, Caesar, thou mayst live ; 

If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive. YExit 



ScEXE TV .—Another part of the same street, lefore the 
house of Beutus. 

Enter Portia and Lucius. 

Portia. I prithee, boy, run to the senate-house ; 

Stay not to answer me, but get thee gone. 

"Why dost thou stay ? 
Lucius. To know my errand, madam. 

Portia. I would have had thee there, and here again. 

Ere I can tell thee what thou shouldst do there. 

constancy, be strong upon my side ! 

Set a huge mountain ^tween my heart and tongue ! 

1 have a man^s mind, but a woman^s might. 
How hard it is for women to keep counsel ! 
Art thou here yet ? 

Lucius. Madam, what should I do ? 10 

Eun to the Capitol, and nothing else ? 

And so return to you, and nothing else ? 
Portia. Yes, bring me word, boy, if thy lord look well. 

For he went sickly forth : and take good note 

What Csesar doth, what suitors press to him. 

Hark, boy I what noise is that ? 
Lucius. I hear none, madam. 
Portia. Prithee, listen well ; 



38 JULIUS C^SAR [Act II 

I heard a bustling rumour, like a fray. 
And the wind brings it from the Capitol. 
Lucius. Sooth, madam, I hear nothing. 20 

Eiiter the Soothsayer. 

Portia. Come hither, fellow : which way hast thou been? 

Soothsayer. At mine own house, good lady. 

Portia. What is 'i o'clock ? 

Soothsayer. About the ninth hour, lady. 

Portia. Is Caesar yet gone to the Capitol ? 

Soothsayer. Madam, not yet : I go to take my stand. 
To see him pass on to the Capitol. 

Portia. Thou hast some suit to Csesar, hast thou not ? 

Soothsayer. That I have, lady : if it will please Caesar 
To be so good to Caesar as to hear me, 
I shall beseech him to befriend himself. 30 

Portia. Why, know'st thou any harm 's int<=.^nded towards 
him ? 

Soothsayer. None that I know will be, much that I 
fear may chance. 
Good morrow to you. Here the street is narrow : 
The throng that follows Csesar at the heek, 
Of senators, of praetors, common suitors. 
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death : 
Fll get me to a place more void, and there 
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along. [Exit. 

Portia. I must go in. Ay me, how weak a thing 

The heart of woman is ! Brutus, 40 

The heavens speed thee in thine enterprise ! 

Sure, the boy heard me. — Brutus hath a suit 

That Cassar will not grant. — 0, I grow faint, 

Eun, Lucius, and commend me to my lord ; 

Say I am merry : come to me again. 

And bring me word what he doth say to thee. 

[Exeunt severally. 



ACT THIED. 

Scene I.- — Rome. Before the Capitol ; the Senate sitting 

above. 

A crowd of people ; among them Artemidorus and the 
Soothsayer. Flourish. Enter C^sar, Brutus^ Oas- 
sius, Casca, Decius, Metellus, Trebonius, Cinna, 
Antony, Lepidus, Popilius, Publius, and others. 

C^SAR. [jTo the Soothsayer] The ides of March are 

come. 
Soothsayer. Ay, Caesar ; but not gone. 
Artemidorus. Hail, Caesar ! read this schedule. 
Decius. Trebonius doth desire you to o^er-read. 

At your best leisure, this his humble snit. 
Artemidorus. Caesar, read mine first ; for mine/s a suit 

That touches Caesar nearer : read it, great Caesar. 
C^SAR. What touches us ourself shall be last served. 
Artemidorus. Delay not, Caesar ; read it instantly. 
C^SAR. What, is the fellow mad ? 

PuBLius. Sirrah, give place. 10 

Cassius. What, urge you your petitions in the street ? 

Come to the Capitol. 

C^SAR goes up to the Senate-House, the rest following, 

PopiLius. I wish your enterprise to-day may thrive. 
Cassius. What enterprise, Popilius ? 



40 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

PopiLius. ' Fare you well. 

[^Advances to C^sar. 
Brutus. What said Popilius Lena ? 
Oassius. He wished to-day our enterprise might thrive. 

I fear our purpose is discovered. 
Brutus. Look, how he makes to Caesar: mark him. 
Cassius. Casca, be sudden, for we fear prevention. 

Brutus, what shall be done ? If this be known, 20 

Cassius or Caesar never shall turn back. 

For I will slay myself. 
Brutus. Cassius, be constant : 

Popilius Lena speaks not of our purposes ; 

For, look, he smiles, and Caesar doth not change. 
Cassius. Trebonius knows his time ; for, look you, Brutus, 

He draws Mark Antony out of the way. 

[Exeunt 'Anton^y and Trebo^^ius. 
Decius. Where is Metellus Cimber ? Let him go. 

And presently prefer his suit to Caesar. 
Brutus. He is addressM : press near and second him. 
CiN'N'A. Casca, you are the first that rears your hand. 30 
CtESAR. Are we all ready ? What is now amiss 

That Caesar and his senate must redress ? 
Metellus. Most high, most mighty, and most puissant 
Cgesar, 

Metellus Cimber throws before thy seat 

An humble heart. — {^Kneeling. 

C^SAR. I must prevent thee, Cimber. 

These couchings and these lowly courtesies 

Might fire the blood of ordinary men. 

And turn pre-ordinance and first decree 

Into the law of children. Be not fond. 

To think that C^sar bears such rebel blood 40 

That will be thawed from the true quality 

With that which melteth fools .; I mean, sweet words. 

Low-crooked courf'sies and base spaniel-fawning. 



Sc. I] JULIUS C^SAB 41 

Thy brother by decree is banished : 

If thou dost bend and pray and fawn for him, 

I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. 

Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without cause 

Will he be satisfied. 
Metellus. Is there no voice more worthy than my own. 

To sound more sweetly in great Oaesar^s ear 50 

For the repealing of my banished brother ? 
Brutus. I kiss thy hand, but not in flattery, Caesar ; 

Desiring thee that Publius Cimber may 

Have an immediate freedom of repeal. 
C^SAR. What, Brutus ! 
Cassius. Pardon, Caesar ; Caesar, pardon r 

As low as to thy foot doth Cassius fall. 

To beg enfranchisement for Publius Cimber. 
C^SAR. I could be well mov^d, if I were as you ; 

If I could pray to move, prayers would move me : 

But I am constant as the northern star, 60 > 

Of whose true-fix^d and resting quality 

There is no fellow in the firmament. 

The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks ; 

They are all fire and every one doth shine ; 

But there ^s but one in all doth hold his place : 

So in the world ; ^tis furnish^'d well with men. 

And men are fiesh and blood, and apprehensive ; 

Yet in the number I do know but one 

That unassailable holds on his rank, 

Unshak'd of motion : and that I am he, 70 

Let me a little show it, even in this ; 

That I was constant Cimber should be banish^. 

And constant do remain to keep him so. 
CiN-NA. Caesar,— 

C^SAR. Hence ! wilt thou lift up Olympus ? 

Decius. Great Cassar, — 
C^SAR. Doth not Brutus bootless kneel ?' 



42 JULIUS CJESAE [Act 111 

Casca. Speak, hands, for me ! 

[Casca first, then the other Conspirators a7id Marcus 

Brutus stab C^sar. 
C^SAR. Et tu. Brute ! Then fall, Caesar ! [Dies. 

CiKi?"A. Liberty ! Freedom 1 Tyranny is dead I 

Eun hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. 
Cassius. Some to the common pulpits, and cry out, 80 

" Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement ! "^ 
Brutus. People and senators, be not affrighted ; 

Fly not ; stand still : ambition's debt is paid. 
Casca. Go to the pulpit, Brutus. 
Decius. And Cassius too. 
Brutus. Where 's Publius ? 

CiNKA. Here, quite confounded with this mutiny. 
Metellus. Stand fast together, lest some friend of Caesar's 

Should chance — 
Brutus. Talk not of standing. Publius, good cheer ; 

There is no harm intended to your person, 91 

Nor to no Eoman else : so tell them, Publius. 
Cassius. And leave us, Publius ; lest that the people. 

Rushing on us, should do your age some mischief. 
Brutus. Do so : and let no man abide this deed. 

But we the doers. 

Re-enter Trebon"IUS. 

Cassius. Where is Antony ? 

Trebonius. Fled to his house amaz'd : 

Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and run 

As it were doomsday. 
Brutus. Fates, we will know your pleasures : 

That we shall die, we know ; 'tis but the time, 100 

And drawing days out, that men stand upon. 
Cassius. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life 

Outs off so many years of fearing death. 



Sc. I] JULIUS C^SAR 43 

Brutus. Grant that, and then is death a benefit : 
So are we Oaesar^s friends, that have abridged 
His time of fearing death. Stoop, Eomans, stoop. 
And let us bathe our hands in Caesar's blood 
Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords : 
Then walk we forth, even to the market-place. 
And, waving our red weapons o'er our heads, 110 

Let's all cry, '^ Peace, freedom and liberty ! " 

Cassius. Stoop then, and wash. How many ages hence 
Shall this our lofty scene be acted over 
In states unborn and accents yet unknown ! 

Beutus. How many times shall Caesar bleed in sport. 
That now on Pompey's basis lies along 
!N"o worthier than the dust ! 

Cassius. So oft as that shall be. 

So often shall the knot of us be calFd 
The men that gave their country liberty. 

Decius. What, shall we forth ? 

Cassius. Ay, every man away : 120 

Brutus shall lead ; and we will grace his heels 
With the most boldest and best hearts of Eome. 

Enter a Servant. 

Beutus. Soft ! who comes here ? A friend of Antony's. 
Servant. Thus, Brutus, did my master bid me kneel ; 

Thus did Mark Antony bid me fall down ; 

And, being prostrate, thus he bade me say : 

Brutus is noble, wise, valiant, and honest ; 

Caesar was mighty, bold, royal, and loving : 

Say I love Brutus, and I honour him ; 

Say I fear'd Caesar, honour'd him, a,nd lov'd him. 130 

If Brutus will vouchsafe that Antony 

May safely come to him, and be resolv'd 

How Caesar hath deserv'd to lie in death, 

Mark Antony shall not love Caesar dead 



44 JULIUS CJESAR [Act III 

So well as Brutus living ; but will follow 
The fortunes and affairs of noble Brutus 
Thorough the hazards of this untrod state 
With all true faith. So says my master Antony. 

Brutus. Thy master is a wise and valiant Roman ; 

I never thought him worse. 140 

Tell him, so please him come unto this place. 
He shall be satisfied, and, by my honour. 
Depart untouched. 

Servant. Fll fetch him presently. [Exit. 

Brutus. I know that we shall have him well to friend. 

Cassius. I wish we may : but yet have I a mind 
That fears him much ; and my misgiving still 
Falls shrewdly to the purpose. 

Brutus. But here comes Antony. 

Re-enter Antoky. 

Welcome, Mark Antony, 
A:n'TO]S"Y. mighty Caesar ! dost thou lie so low ? 

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 150 
Shrunk to this little measure ? Fare thee well. 
I know not, gentlemen, what you intend. 
Who else must be let blood, who else is rank : 
If I myself, there is no hour so fit 
As Csesar^s death's hour, nor no instrument 
Of half that worth as those your swords, made rich 
With the most noble blood of all this world. 
I do beseech ye, if you bear me hard, 
^""ow, whilst your purpled hands do reek- and smoke. 
Fulfil your pleasure. Live a thousand years, 160 

I shall not find myself so apt to die : 
'Ho place will please me so, no mean of death. 
As here by Cassar, and by you cut off, 
The choice and master spirits of this age. 
Brutus. Antony, beg not your death of us. 



8c. I] JULIUS G^SAB 45 

Though now we must appear bloody and cruel. 

As, by our hands and this our present act. 

You see we do, yet see you but our hands 

And this the bleeding business they have done : 

Our hearts you see not ; they are pitiful ; 17© 

And pity to the general wrong of Eome — 

As fire drives out fire, so pity pity — 

Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part. 

To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony : 

Our arms in strength of malice, and our hearts 

Of brothers^ temper, do receive you in 

With all kind love, good thoughts and reverence. 

Oassius. Your voice shall be as strong as any man^s 
In the disposing of new dignities. 

Brutus. Only be patient till we have appeased 180 

The multitude, beside themselves with fear. 
And then we will deliver you the cause. 
Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him. 
Have thus proceeded. 

An'TON^y. I doubt not of your wisdom. 

Let each man render me his bloody hand ; 
First, Marcus Brutus, will I shake with you ; 
Next, Caius Cassius, do I take your hand; 
Now, Decius Brutus, yours ; now yours, Metellus ; 
Yours, Cinna ; and, my valiant Casca, yours ; 180 

Though last, not least in love, yours, good Treboniiis. 
Gentlemen all, — alas, what shall I say ? 
My credit now stands on such slippery ground. 
That one of two bad ways you must conceit me. 
Either a coward or a flatterer. 
That I did love thee, Csesar, 0, "tis true : 
If then thy spirit look upon us now. 
Shall it not grieve thee dearer than thy death. 
To see thy Antony making his peace. 
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes. 



46 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ? 200 

Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds. 

Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood. 

It would become me better than to close 

In terms of friendship with thine enemies. 

Pardon me, Julius ! Here wast thou bay^d, brave 
hart ; 

Here didst thou fall, and here thy hunters stand, 

Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimsoned in thy lethe. 

world, thou wast the forest to this hart ; 

And this, indeed, world, the heart of thee. 

How like a deer strucken by many princes, 210 

Dost thou here lie ! 
Cassius. Mark Antony, — 
Ais^TON"Y. Pardon me, Caius Cassius : 

The enemies of Caesar shall say this ; 

Then, in a friend, it is cold modesty. 
Cassius. I blame you not for praising Caesar so ; 

But what compact mean you to have with us ? 

AVill you be pricked in number of our friends ; 

Or shall we on, and not depend on you ? 
An"TONY. Therefore I took your hands, but was, indeed, 

Sway'd from the point, by looking down on Caesar. 220 

Friends am I with you all and love you all. 

Upon this hope, that you shall give me reasons 

Why and wherein Caesar was dangerous. 
Brutus. Or else were this a savage spectacle : 

Our reasons are so full of good regard 

That were you, Antony, the son of Caesar, 

You should be satisfied. 
Antony. That ^s all I seek : 

And am moreover suitor that I may 

Produce his body to the market-place ; 

And in the pulpit, as becomes a friend, 230 

Speak in the order of his funeral. 



Sc. I] JULIUS C^SAR 47 

Bkutus. You shall, Mark Antony. 

Cassius. Brutus, a word with you. 

[Aside to Brutus] You know not what you do : do 
not consent 

That Antony speak in his funeral : 

Know you how much the people may be mov'd 

By that which he will utter ? 
Brutus. By your pardon ; 

I will myself into the pulpit first. 

And show the reason of our Caesar's death : 

What Antony shall speak, I will protest 

He speaks by leave and by permission, 240 

And that we are contented Cassar shall 

Have all true rites and lawful ceremonies. 

It shall advantage more than do us wrong. 
Cassius. I know not what may fall ; I like it not. 
Brutus. Mark Antony, here, take you Caesar's body. 

You shall not in your funeral speech blame us. 

But speak all good you can devise of Caesar, 

And say you do 't by our permission ; 

Else shall you not have any hand at all 

About his funeral : and you shall speak 250 

In the same pulpit whereto I am going, 

After my speech is ended. 
Antony. Be it so ; 

I do desire no more. 
Brutus. Prepare the body then, and follow us. 

[Exeunt all hut AntonYo 
Antony. 0, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, 

That I am meek and gentle with these butchers ! 

Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 

That ever lived in the tide of times. 

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood ! 

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, — 260 

Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips. 



48 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

To beg the voice and utte^'ance of my tongue — 
A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ; 
Domestic fury and fierce civil strife 
Shall cumber all the ]_3arts of Italy ; 
Blood and destruction shall be so in use 
And dreadful objects so familiar, 
That mothers shall but smile when they behold 
Their infants quartered with the hands of war ; 
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds : 270 

And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge. 
With Ate by his side come hot from hell, 
> Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice 
Cry ^' Havoc," and let slip the dogs of war ; 
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth 
With carrion men, groaning for burial. 

Enter a Servant. 

You serve Octavius Csesar, do you not ? 

Servant. I do, Mark Antony. [ 

Antony. C^sar did write for him to come to Eome. 

Servant. He did receive his letters, and is coming ; 
And bid me say to you by word of mouth — 281 

Caesar ! — [Seeing tlie docly. 

Antony. Thy heart is big ; get thee apart and weep. 
Passion, I see, is catching ; for mine eyes. 
Seeing those beads of sorrow stand in thine. 
Began to water. Is thy master coming ? 

Servant. He lies to-night within seven leagues of Rome. 

Antony. Post back with speed, and tell him what hath 
chanc'd : 
Here is a mourning Eome, a dangerous Rome, 
No Rome of safety for Octavius yet ; 290 

Hie hence, and tell him so. Yet, stay awhile ; 
Thou shalt not back till I have borne this corse 
Into the market-place : there shall I try. 



Sc. II] JULIUS C^SAR 49 

In my oration, liow the peo])le take 

The cruel issue of these bloody men ; 

According to the which, thou shalt discourse 

To young Octavius of the state of things. 

Lend me your hand. \^Exeunt with C^sar^s dody. 

Scene II. — The Forum. 

Enter Brutus and Cassius, and a throng of Citizens. 

Citizens. We will be satisfied ; let us be satisfied. 
Brutus. Then follow me, and give me audience, friends. 

Cassius, go you into the other street. 

And part the numbers. 

Those that will hear me speak, let ^em stay here ; 

Those that will follow Cassius, go with him ; 

And public reasons shall be rendered 

Of C^sar^s death. 
First Citizen. I will hear Brutus speak. 

Second Citizen. I will hear Cassius ; and compare 
their reasons. 

When severally we hear them rendered. 10 

[Exit Cassius, luith some of the Citizens. Brutus 
goes into the pulpit. 
Third Citizen. The noble Brutus is ascended: silence ! 
Brutus. Be patient till the last. 

Eomans, countrymen, and lovers ! hear me for my cause, 
and be silent, that you may hear : believe me for mine 
honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may 
believe : censure me in your wisdom, and awake your 
senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any 
in this assembly, any dear friend of Csesar^s, to him I say 
that Brutus^ love to Caesar was no less than his. If then 
that friend demand why Brutus rose against Csesar, this is 
my answer : Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved 
Eonie more. Had you rather Csesar were living and die 



50 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freemen ? 
As Csesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortunate, 
I rejoice at it ; as he was valiant, I honour him : but, as 
he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love ; 
joy for his fortune ; honour for his valour ; and death for 
his ambition. Who is here so base that would be a bond- 
man ? If any, speak ; for him have I offended. Who is 
here sc rude that would not be a Eoman ? If any, speak ; 
for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not 
love his country ? If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 
I pause for a reply. 33 

All. N^one, Brutus, none. 

Brutus. Then none have I offended. I have done no 
more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The question 
of his death is enrolled in the Capitol ; his glory not ex- 
tenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor his offences en- 
forced, for which he suffered death. 

Enter Antony and others, ivith C^sae^s body. 

Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony : who, 
though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the 
benefit of his dying, a place in the commonwealth ; as 
which of you shall not ? With this I depart, — that, as I 
slew my best lover for the good of Eome, I have the same 
dagger for myself, when it shall please my country to need 
my death. 46 

All. Live, Brutus ! live, live ! 
EiRST Citizen. Bring him with triumph home unto his 

house. 
Second Citizen. Give him a statue with his ancestors. 
Third Citizen. Let him be Caesar. 
Fourth Citizen. Ciesar^s better parts 

Shall be crowned in Brutus. 51 

First Citizen. We ^11 bring him to his house with shouts 

and clamours. 



Sc. II] JULIUS CJESAR 51 

Brutus. My countrymen, — 

Secoj^d Citizen". Peace, silence ! Brutus speaks. 

First Citizen". Peace, ho ! 

Brutus. Good countrymen, let me depart alone. 

And, for my sake, stay here with Antony : 

Do grace to Csesar^s corpse, and grace his speech 

Tending to Cgesar^s glories, which Mark Antony, 

By our permission, is allowed to make. 

I do entreat you, not a man depart, 60 

Save I alone, till Antony have spoke. [Exit. 

First Citizen". Stay, ho ! and let us hear Mark An= 

tony. 
Third Citizen". Let him go up into the public chair ; 

We '11 hear him. Noble Antony, go up. 
An"TON"T. For Brutus' sake, I am beholding to you. 

[Goes into the pulpit. 
Fourth Citizen". What does he say of Brutus ? 
Third Citizen". He says, for Brutus' sake. 

He finds himself beholding to us all. 
Fourth Citizen". 'Twere best he speak no harm of 

Brutus here. 
First Citizen". This Caesar was a tyrant. 
Third Citizen". Nay, that 's certain : 

We are blest that Eome is rid of him. 70 

Second Citizen". Peace ! let us hear what Antony can 

say. 
Antony. You gentle Eomans, — 

piTiZENS. Peace, ho ! let us hear him. 

Antony. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your 
ears ; 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them ; 

The good is oft interred with their bones ; 

So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus 

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious : 



52 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault. 

And grievously hath' Caesar answered it. 80 

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest, — 

For Brutus is an honourable man ; 

So are they all, all honourable men — 

Come I to speak in Caesar^s funeral. 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me : 

But Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And Brutus is an honourable man. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill : 

Did this in C^sar seem ambitious ? {>0 

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept : 

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff : 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And Brutus is an honourable man. 

You all did see that on the Lupercal 

I thrice presented him a kingly crown. 

Which he did thrice refuse : was this ambition ? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And, sure, he is an honourable man. 

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, 100 

But here I am to speak what I do know. 

You all did love him once, not without cause : 

What cause withholds you then to mourn for him ? 

judgement ! thou art fled to brutish beasts, 
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me ; 
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, 

^ And I must pause till it come back to me. 

First Citizei^. Methinks there^is much reason in his 

sayings. 
Second CiTizEir. If thou consider rightly of the matter, 

Caesar has had great wrong. 
Third Citizei^. Has he, masters ? 110 

1 fear there will a worse come in his place. 



Sc. II] JULIUS Cu^SAB 53 

Fourth CiTizEi^f. Mark'd ye his words ? He would not 
take the crown ; 
Therefore ^tis certain he was not ambitious. 
First Citizen". If it be found so^ some will dear abide it. 
SECOJf D CiTiZEK. Poor soul ! his eyes are red as fire with 

weeping. 
Third Citizen". There 's not a nobler man in Rome than 

Antony. 
Fourth Citizen". ISTow mark him^ he begins again to 

speak. 
Antoky. But yesterday the word of Ceesar might 
Have stood against the world ; now lies he there. 
And none so poor to do him reverence. 120 

masters, if I were disposed to stir 

Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 

1 should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong. 
Who, you all know, are honourable men : 

I will not do them wrong ; I rather choose 

To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you. 

Than I will wrong such honourable men. 

But here ^s a parchment with the seal of Caesar ; 

I found it in his closet ; ^tis his will : 

Let but the commons hear this testament — 130 

Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read — 

And they would go and kiss dead Caesar's wounds 

And dip their napkins in his sacred blood. 

Yea, beg a hair of him for memory. 

And, dying, mention it within their wills. 

Bequeathing it as a rich legacy 

*<*.^"nto their issue. 

Fourth Citizen". We '11 hear the will : read it, Mark 
Antony. 

All. The will ! the will ! we will hear Cgesar's will. 

^N"TONrY. Have patience, gentle friends, I must not 
read it ; 140 



54 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

It is not meet you know how Caesar lov^d you. 

You are not wood^ you are not stones, but men ; 

And, being men, hearing the will of Caesar, 

It will inflame you, it will make you mad : 

^Tis good you know not that you are his heirs ; 

i^or, if you should, 0, what would come of it ! 

Fourth Citizen. Eead the will ; we '11 hear it, Antony ; 

You shall read us the will, Caesar's will. 
'^NTO]S"Y. Will you be patient ? will you stay awhile ? 

I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it : 150 

I fear I wrong the honourable men 
^ Whose daggers have stabVd Caesar ; I do fear it. 
Fourth Citizen. They were traitors : honourable men ! 
All. The will ! the testament ! 

Second Citizen. They were villains, murderers : the 
will ! read the will. 
Antony. You will compel me, then, to read the will ? 

Then make a ring about the corpse of Csesar, 

And let me show you him that made the will. 

Shall I descend ? and will you give me leave ? 160 

All. Come down. 
Second Citizen. Descend. 

[He comes down from the pulpit. 
Third Citizen. You shall have leave. 
Fourth Citizen. A ring ; stand round. 
First Citizen. Stand from the hearse, stand from the 
body. 

Second Citizen. Eoom for Antony, most noble Antony. 
Antony. Nay, press not so upon me ; stand far off. 
Several Citizens. Stand back. Eoom ! Bear back. 
Antony. If you have tears, prepare to shed them 
now. 

You all do know this mantle : I remember 170 

The first time ever Caesar put it on ; 

'T was on a summer's evening, in his tent. 



Sc. II] JULIUS CJESAR 55 

That day he overcame the ]N"ervii : 

Look^ in this place ran Cassius^ dagger through : 

See what a rent the envious Casca made : 

Through this the v^^ell-beloved Brutus stabbed ; 

And as he plucked his cursed steel away, 

Mark how the blood of C^sar foUowM it. 

As rushing out of doors, to be resolved 

If Brutus so unkindly knocked, or no ; 180 

For Brutus, as you know, was Cassar^s angel : 

Judge, you gods, how dearly Caesar lov^d him ! 

This Fas the most unkindest cut of all ; 

For when the noble C^sar saw him stab. 

Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms. 

Quite vanquished him : then burst his mighty heart ; 

And, in his mantle muffling up his face. 

Even at the base of Pompey's statue. 

Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell. 

0, what a fall was there, my countrymen ! 190 

Then I, and you, and all of us fell down. 

Whilst bloody treason flourish^'d over us. 

0, now you weep, and I perceive you feel 

The dint of pity : these are gracious drops. 

Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold 

Our Cassar's vesture wounded ? Look you here. 

Here is himself, marrM, as you see, with traitors. 

FiEST Citizen". piteous spectacle ! 

Second Citizei!T. noble Caesar ! 

Third Citizen". woful day ! 200 

Fourth Citizei;^. traitors, villains ! 

First Citizen". most bloody sight ! 

Secon'd Citizen". We will be revenged. 

All. Kevenge ! About ! Seek ! Burn ! Fire ! Kill ^ 

Slay ! Let not a traitor live ! 

An"TON"y. Stay, countrymen. 

First Citizen. Peace there ! hear the noble Antony. 



56 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

Second Citize]!?-. We '11 hear him, we '11 follow him, we '*11 

die with him. 

An"TON"T. Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you 
up 210 

To such a sudden flood of mutiny. 
They that have done this deed are honourable : 
What private griefs they have, alas, I know not. 
That made them do it : they are wise and honourable. 
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you. 
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts : 
I am no orator, as Brutus is ; 
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man. 
That love my friend ; and that they know full well 
That gave me public leave to speak of him : 220 

For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth. 
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech. 
To stir men's blood : I only speak right on ; 
I tell you that which you yourselves do know ; 
Show you sweet Caesar's wounds, poor, poor dumb 

mouths. 
And bid them speak for me : but were I Brutus, 
And Brutus Antony, there were an Antony 
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue 
In every wound of Caesar that should, move 
The stones of Eome to rise and mutiny. 230 

All. We '11 mutiny. 

First Citizen". We '11 burn the house of Brutus. 

Third Citizen. Away, then ! come, seek the conspirators. 

Antony. Yet hear me, countrymen ; yet hear me speak. 

All. Peace, ho ! Hear Antony. Most noble Antony I 

Antony. Why, friends, you go to do you know not what : 
Wherein hath Caesar thus deserv'd your loves ? 
Alas, you know not : I must tell you then : 
You have forgot the will I told you of. 

\ll. Most true : the will ! Let 's stay and hear the will. 



Sc. II] JULIUS CMSAR 57 

AN"TO]srY. Here is the will, and under Caesar^'s seal. 241 
To every Eoman citizen he gives. 
To every several man, seventy-five drachmas. 

Second Citizen?-. Most noble Caesar ! We ^11 revenge 

his death. 

Third Citizei^-. royal Caesar ! 

ANTOi^"Y. Hear me with patience. 

All. Peace, ho ! 

Antony. Moreover^ he hath left you all his walks. 

His private arbours and new-planted orchards, 250 

On this side Tiber ; he hath left them you. 
And to your heirs for ever ; common pleasures^ 
To walk abroad and recreate yourselves. 
Here was a Caesar ! when comes such another ? 

First Citizen. Never, never. Come, away, away ! 
We ^11 burn his body in the holy place. 
And with the brands fire the traitors' houses. 
Take up the body. 

Second Citizen. Go fetch fire. 

Third Citizen. Pluck down benches. 260 

Fourth Citizen. Pluck down forms, windows, any thing. 

\_Exeunt Citizens with the body. 

Antony. Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot. 
Take thou what course thou wilt ! 

Enter a Servant. 

How now, fellow ! 

Servant. Sir, Octavius is already come to Eome. 

Antony. Where is he ? 

Servant. He and Lepidus are at Caesar's house. 

Antony. And thither will I straight to visit him : 
He comes upon a wish. Fortune is merry. 
And in this mood will give us any thing. 

Servant. I heard him say, Brutus and Cassius 270 

Are rid like madmen through the gates of Eome. 



58 JULIUS C^SAR [Act III 

Anto]S'T. Belike they had some notice of the people. 
How I had mov'd them. Bring me to Octavius. 

[^Exeunt. 

Scene III. — A street. 

Enter Cii^i^A the poet. 

CiNNA. I dreamt to-night that I did feast with Oassar, 
And things unluckily charge my fantasy : 
I have no will to wander forth of doors. 
Yet something leads me forth. 

Enter Citizens. 

First Citizek. What is your name ? 

Second Citizen. Whither are you going ? 

Third Citizen. Where do you dwell ? 

Fourth Citizen. Are you a married man or a bachelor ? 

Second Citizen. Answer every man directly. 

First Citizen. Ay, and briefly. 10 

Fourth Citizen. Ay, and wisely. 

Third Citizen. Ay, and truly, you were best. 

CiNNA. What is my name ? Whither am I going ? 

Where do I dwell ? Am I a married man or a bachelor ? 

Then, to answer every man directly and briefly, wisely and 

truly : wisely I say, I am a bachelor. 

Second Citizen. That's as much as to SR,y, they are 

fools that marry : you '11 bear me a bang for that, I fear. 

Proceed ; directly. 

CiNNA, Directly, I am going to Caesar's funeral. 20 

First Citizen. As a friend or an enemy ? 

CiNNA. As a friend. 

Second Citizen. That matter is answered directly. 

Fourth Citizen. For your dwelling, briefly. 

CiNNA. Briefly, 1 dwell by the Capitol. 

Third Citizen. Your name, sir, truly. 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS GJEJSAR 5f> 

CiiT^fTA. Truly, my name is Cinna. 

FiKST CiTizEi^. Tear him to pieces ; he ^s a conspirator. 
CiN"i^A. I am Cinna the poet, I am Cinna the poet. 
Fourth Citizei^. Tear him for his bad verses, tear him 
for his bad verses. 31 

CiNi^A. I am not Cinna the conspirator. 
Fourth Citizen". It is no matter, his name 's Cinna ; 
pluck but his name out of his heart, and turn him going. 
Third Citizen. Tear him, tear him ! Come, brands, 
ho ! firebrands : to Brutus', to Oassius' ; burn all : some 
to Decius' house, and some to Oasca's ; some to Ligarius' : 
away, go ; [Exeunt. 



ACT FOURTH. % 

Scene I. — A house in Rome. 

Ais-TONY, OcTAVius, and Lepidus, seated at a taUe. 

Axto:n'Y. These many, then^ shall die ; their names are 

prickM. 
OcTAVius. Your brother too must die ; consent you, 

Lepidus ? 
Lept.dus. I do consent — 

OcTAVius. Prick him down, Antony. 

Lepidus. Upon condition Publius shall not live, 

Who is your sister^s son, Mark Antony. 
An^ton"y. He shall not live ; look, with a spot I damn 
him. 

But, Lepidus, go you to Ogesar's house ; 

Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine 

How to cut off some charge in legacies. 
Lepidus. What, shall I find you here ? 10 

OcTAVius. Or here, or at the Capitol. \^Exit Lepidus. 
A>^TON"Y. This is a slight unmeritable man. 

Meet to be sent on errands : is it fit. 

The three-fold world divided, he should stand 

One of the three to share it ? 
OcTAVius. So you thought him. 

And took his voice who should be prick'd to die. 

In our black sentence and proscription. 



Sc. I] JULIUS CMSAR 61 

Anto^^T. Octavius, I have seen more days than you : 

And though we lay these honours on this man^ 

To ease ourselves of divers slander^nis loads, 20 

He shall hut bear them as the ass bears gold. 

To groan and sweat under the business. 

Either led or driven, as we point the way ; 

And having brought our treasure where we will. 

Then take we down his load and turn him off. 

Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears. 

And graze in commons. 
OcTAVius. You may do your will ; 

But he^s a tried and valiant soldier. 
Antoi^t. So is my horse, Octavius ; and for that 

I do appoint him store of provender : 30 

It is a creature that I teach to fight. 

To wind, to stop, to run directly on. 

His corporal motion governed by my spirit. 

And, in some taste, is Lepidus but so ; 

He must be taught, and trained, and bid go forth ; 

A barren-spirited fellow ; one that feeds 

On objects, arts, and imitations, M^ 

Which, out of use and staFd by other men. 

Begin his fashion : do not talk of him 

But as a property. And now, Octavius, 40 

Listen great things : Brutus and Cassius 

Are levying powers : we must straight make head : 

Therefore let .our alliance be combined. 

Our best friends made, our means stretched ; 

And let us presently go sit in council. 

How covert matters may be best disclosed. 

And open perils surest answered. 
Octavius. Let us do so : for we are at the stake. 

And bay^d about with many enemies ; 

And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear, 50 

Millions of mischiefs. [Exeunt, 



62 JULIUS C^SAJR [Act IV 

Scene II. — Camp near Sardis. Before Brutus's tent. 

Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Lucius, and Soldiers; 
TiTiNius and Pikdarus meeting them. 

Brutus. Stand, ho ! 

LuciLius. Give the word, ho ! and stand. 

Brutus. What now, Lucilius ! is Oassius near ? 

LuciLius. He is at hand ; and Pindarus is come 
To do you salutation from his master. 

Brutus. He greets me well. Your master, Pindarus, 
In his own change, or by ill officers. 
Hath given me some worthy cause to wish 
Things done, undone : but if he be at hand, 
I shall be satisfied. 

PiiN^DARUS. I do not doubt 10 

But that my noble master will appear 
Such as he is, full of regard and honour. 

Brutus. He is not doubted. A word, Lucilius : 
How he received you, let me be resolv'd. 

Lucilius. With courtesy and with respect enough ; 
But not with such familiar instances, 
Nor with such free and friendly conference. 
As he hath us^d of old. 

Brutus. Thou hast described 

A hot friend cooling : ever note, Lucilius, 
When love begins to sicken and decay ,_ 20 

It useth an enforced ceremony. 
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith ; 
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand. 
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle ; 
But when they should endure the bloody spur. 
They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades. 
Sink in the trial. Comes his army on ? 

Lucilius. They mean this night in Sardis tr be quartered ; 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS C^SAR 63 

The greater part, the horse in general. 
Are come with Oassius. \^Loio march within. 

Brutus. Hark ! he is arrived. 30 

March gently on to meet him. 

^?^^er Oassius and his powers, 

Oassius. Stand, ho ! 

Brutus. Stand, ho ! Speak the word along. 

First Soldier. Stand ! 

Secon"d Soldier. Stand ! 

Third Soldier. Stand ! 

Oassius. Most noble brother, yon have done me wrong. 

Brutus. Judge me, yon gods ! wrong I mine enemies ? 

And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother ? 
Oassius. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides wrongs ; 

And when you do them — 
Brutus. Oassius, be content ; 41 

Speak your griefs softly : I do know you well. 

Before the eyes of both our armies here, 

Which should perceive nothing but love from us. 

Let us not wrangle : bid them move away ; 

Then in my tent, Oassius, enlarge your griefs. 

And I will give you audience. 
Oassius. Pindarus, 

Bid our commanders lead their charges off 

A little from this ground. 
Brutus. Lucilius, do you the like ; and let no man 50 

Oome to our tent till we have done our conferencec 

Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. [Exeunt. 



ScEN^E IIL — Brutus's 

Enter Brutus and Oassius, 

Oassius. That you have wrongM me doth appear in this 
You have condemned and noted Lucius Pella 



64 JULIUS GJESAR [Act IV 

For taking bribes here of the Sardians ; 
Wherein my letters^ praying on his side. 
Because I knew the man, were slighted off. 

Brutus. You wrong'd yourself to write in such a case. 

Cassius. In such a time as this it is not meet 

That every nice offence should bear his comment. 

Brutus. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 

Are much condemned to have an itching palm, 10 

To sell and mart your offices for gold 
To undeservers. 

Cassius. I an itching palm ! 

You know that you are Brutus that speaks this. 
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. 

Brutus. The name of Cassius honours this corruption. 
And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. 

Cassius. Chastisement ! 

Brutus. Remember March, the ides of March remember: 
Did not great Julius bleed for justice^ sake ? 
What villain touched his body, that did stab, 20 

And not for justice ? What, shall one of us. 
That struck the foremost man of all this world 
But for supporting robbers, shall we now 
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes. 
And sell the mighty space of our large honours 
For so much trash as may be grasped thus ? 
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon. 
Than such a Roman. 

Cassius. Brutus, bay not me ; 

1^11 not endure it : you forget yourself. 
To hedge me in ; I am a soldier, I, 30 

Older in practice, abler than yourself 
To make conditions. 

Brutus. Go to ; you are not, Cassius. 

Cassius. I am. 

Brutus. I say you are not. 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS GMSAR 65 

Cassius. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself ; 
Have mind upon your health, tempt me no farther. 

Beuttjs. Away, slight man ! 

Cassius. Is "t possible, ? 

Beutus. Hear me, for I will speak. 

Must I give way and room to your rash choler ? 
Shall I be frighted when a madman stares ? 40 

Cassius. ye gods, ye gods ! must I endure all this ? 

Brutus. All this ? ay, more : fret till your proud heart 
break ; 
Go show your slaves how choleric you are. 
And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge. 
Must I observe you ? must I stand and crouch 
Under your testy humour ? By the gods, 
You shall digest the venom of your spleen. 
Though it do split you ; for, from this day forth, 
1 11 use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter. 
When you are waspish. 

Cassius. Is it come to this ? 50 

Brutus. You say you are a better soldier : 
Let it appear so ; make your vaunting true. 
And it shall please me well : for mine own part, 
I shall be glad to learn of abler men. 

Cassius. You wrong me every way ; you wrong me, 
Brutus ; 
I said, an elder soldier, not a better : 
Did I say, better ? 

Brutus. If you did, I care not. 

Cassius. When Caesar liv^d, he durst not thus have 
movM me. 

Brutus. Peace, peace ! you durst not so have tempted 
him. 

Cassius. I durst not ! 60 

Brutus. No. 

Cassius. What, durst not tempt him ! 
5 



66 JULIUS C^SAR [Act IV 

Beutus. For your life you durst not* 

Cassius. Do not presume too much upon my love ; 
I may do that I shall be sorry for. 

Beutus. You have done that you should be sorry 
for. 
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats ; 
For I am arm^d so strong in honesty 
That they pass by me as the idle wind. 
Which 1 respect not. I did send to you 
For certain sums of gold, which you denied me : 70 
For I can raise no money by vile means : 
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart. 
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
By any indirection : I did send 
To you for gold to pay my legions. 
Which you denied me : was that done like Cassius ? 
Should I have answer'd Caius Cassius so ? 
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous. 
To lock such rascal counters from his friends, 80 

Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts. 
Dash him to pieces ! 

Cassius. I denied you not. 

Brutus. You did. 

Cassius. I did not : he was but a fool 

That brought my answer back. Brutus hath riv'd my 

heart : 
A friend should bear his friend^s infirmities. 
But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 

Brutus. I do not, till you practise them on me. 

Cassius. You love me not. 

Brutus. I do not like your faults. 

Cassius. A friendly eye could never see such faults. 

Brutus. A flatterer's would not, though they do appear 
As huge as high Olympus. * 91 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS Cu^SAR 67 

Cassius. Come^ Antony, and young Octavius, come. 
Eevenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 
For Cassius is aweary of the world ; 
Hated by one he loves ; braved by his brother ; 
Checked like a bondman ; all his faults observed. 
Set in a note-book, learned, and conned by rote. 
To cast into my teeth. 0, I could weep 
My spirit from mine eyes ! There is my dagger, 
And here my naked breast ; within, a heart 100 

Dearer than Plutus^ mine, richer than gold : 
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth ; 
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart : 
Strike, as thou didst at Ceesar ; for I know. 
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lov'dst him 

better 
Than ever thou lov^dst Cassius. 

Brutus. Sheathe your dagger : 

Be angry when you will, it shall have scope ; 
Do what you will, dishonour shall be humour. 
Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
That carries anger as the flint bears fire, 110 

Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark 
And straight is cold again. 

Cassius. Hath Cassius liv'd 

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 
When grief and blood ill-temperd vexeth him ? 

Brutus. When I spoke that, I was ill-temper'd too. 

Cassius. Do you confess so much ? Give me your hand. 

Brutus. And my heart too. 

Cassius. Brutus ! 

Brutus. What 's the matter ? 

Cassius. Have not you love enough to bear with me. 
When that rash humour which my mother gave me 
Makes me forgetful ? 

Brutus. Yes, Cassius, and from henceforth. 



ea JULIUS C^SAR [Act IV 

When you are over-earnest witli your Brutus, 121 

He ^11 think your mother chides, and leave you so. 
Poet. [Within.] Let me go in to see the generals ; 

There is some grudge between ^em ; 'tis not meet 

They be alone. 
LuciLius. [WitJiin.l You shall not come to them. 
Poet. [Within.] Nothing but death shall stay me. 

Unter Poet, followed hy Lucilius, Titinius, and Lucius. 

Cassius. How now ! what 's the matter ? 

Poet. For shame, you generals ! what do you mean ? 

Love, and be friends, as two such men should be ; 

Por I have seen more years, Fm sure, than ye. 130 
Cassius. Ha, ha ! how vilely doth this cynic rhyme ! 
Brutus. G-et you hence, sirrah ; saucy fellow, hence ! 
Cassius. Bear with him, Brutus ; "tis his fashion. 
Brutus. I'll know his humour, when he knows his 
time : 

What should the wars do with these jigging fools ? 

Companion, hence ! 
Cassius. Away, away, be gone ! [Exit Poet. 

Brutus. Lucilius and Titinius, bid the commanders 

Prepare to lodge their companies to-night. 
Cassius. And come yourselves, and bring Messala with 
you 

Immediately to us. [Exeunt Lucilius and Titinius. 
Brutus. Lucius, a bowl of wine ! [Exit Lucius. 

Cassius. I did not think you could have been so angry. 
Brutus. Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. » 142 

Cassius. Of your philosophy you make no use. 

If you give place to accidental evils. 
Brutus. No man bears sorrow better. Portia is dead. 
Cassius. Ha ! Portia ! 
Brutus. She is dead. 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS CMSAR 69 

Cassius. How ^scaped I killing when I crossed you so ? 

insupportable and touching loss ! 
Upon what sickness ? 

Brutus. Impatient of my absence^ 150 

And grief that young Octayius with Mark Antony 
Have made themselves so strong : for with her death 
That tidings came : with this she fell distract. 
And, her attendants absent, swallowed fire. 

Cassius. And died so ? 

Brutus. Even so. 

Cassius. ye immortal gods ! 

Re-enter Lucius, with wine and taper. 

Brutus. Speak no more of her. Give me a bowl of 
wine. 

In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. {Drinlcs. 

Cassius. My heart is thirsty for that noble pledge. 

Eill, Lucius, till the wine o'erswell the cup ; 159 

1 cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. {Drinhs. 
Brutus. Come in, Titinius ! {Exit Lucius. 

Re-enter Titikius, witTi Messala. 

Welcome, good Messala. 
Now sit we close about this taper here. 
And call in question our necessities. 

Cassius. Portia, art thou gone ? 

Brutus. ]^o more, I pray you. 

Messala, I have here received letters. 
That young Octavius and Mark Antony 
Cbme down upon us with a mighty power. 
Bending their expedition toward Philippi. 

Messala. Myself have letters of the selfsame tenour. 

Brutus. With what addition ? 170 

Messala. That by proscription and bills of outlawry. 



70 JULIUS C^SAR [Act IV 

Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, 

Have put to death an hundred senators. 
Brutus. Therein our letters do not well agree ; 

Mine speak of seventy senators that died 

By their proscriptions, Cicero being one. 
Cassius. Cicero one ! 
Messala. Cicero is dead. 

And by that order of proscription. 

Had you your letters from your wife, my lord ? 
Brutus. N"o, Messala. 180 

Messala. JSTor nothing in your letters writ of her ? 
Brutus. Nothing, Messala. 

Messala. That, methinks, is strange. 

Brutus. Why ask you? hear you aught of her in yours? 
Messala. No, my lord. 

Brutus. JSTow, as you are a Eoman, tell me true. 
Messala. Then like a Eoman bear the truth I tell : 

For certain she is dead, and by strange manner. 
Brutus. Why, farewell, Portia. We must die, Messala : 

With meditating that she must die once 

I have the patience to endure it now. 190 

Messala. Even so great men great losses should endure. 
Cassius. I have as much of this in art as you, 

But yet my nature could not bear it so. 
Brutus. Well, to our work alive. What do you think 

Of marching to Philippi presently ? 
Cassius. I do not think it good. 
Brutus. Your reason ? 

Cassius. This it is : 

^Tis better that the enemy seek us : 

So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers. 

Doing himself offence ; whilst we, lying still. 

Are full of rest, defence, and nimbleness. 200 

Brutus. Good reasons must of force give place to better. 

The people 'twixt Philippi and this ground 



Sc. ill] JULIUS C^SAR 71 

Do stand but in a forced affection ; 

For they have grudged us contribution : 

The enemy^ marching along by them. 

By them shall make a fuller number up. 

Come on refreshed, new-added, and encouraged ; 

From which advantage shall we cut him off. 

If at Philippi we do face him there. 

These people at our back. 
Cassius. Hear me, good brother. 

Brutus. Under your pardon. You must note beside. 

That we have tried the utmost of our friends. 213 

Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe : 

The enemy increaseth every day ; 

We, at the height, are ready to decline. 

There is a tide in the affairs of men. 

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 

Omitted, all the voyage of their life 

Is bound in shallows and in miseries. 

On such a full sea are we now afloat ; 220 

And we must take the current when it serves. 

Or lose our ventures. 
Cassius. Then, with your will, go on ; 

We ^11 along ourselves, and meet them at Philippi. 
Beutus. The deep of night is crept upon our talk. 

And nature must obey necessity ; 

Which we will niggard with a little rest. 

There is no more to say ? 
Cassius. • No more. Good night : 

Early to-morrow will we rise and hence. 
Brutus. Lucius ! [Enter Lucius "^ My gown. [Bxit 
Lucius.] Farewell, good Messala : 

Good night, Titinius ; noble, noble Cassius, 230 

Good night, and good repose. 
Cassius. my dear brother I 

This was an ill beginning of the night : 



72 JULIUS C^SAR [Act IV 

Never come sucli division ^tween our souls [ 

Let it not, Brutus. 
Brutus. Every thing is well. 

Cassius. Good night, my lord. 

Brutus. Good night, good brother. 

TiTiNius. Messala. Good night. Lord Brutus. 
Brutus. Farewell, every one. 

\_Exeunt all hut Brutus, 

Re-enter Lucius, with the gown. 

Give me the gown. Where is thy instrument ? 
Lucius. Here in the tent. 
Brutus. What, thou speak^st drowsily ? 

Poor knave, I blame thee not ; thou art overwatched. 

Call Claudius and some other of my men ; 240 

I ^11 have them sleep on cushions in my tent. 
Lucius. Varro and Claudius ! 

Enter Varro and Claudius. 

Varro. Calls my lord ? 

Brutus. I pray you, sirs, lie in my tent and sleep ; 

It may be I shall raise you by and by 

On business to my brother Cassius. 
Varro. So please you, we will stand and watch your 

pleasure. 
Brutus. I will not have it so : lie down, good sirs ; 

It may be I shall otherwise bethink me. 

Look, Lucius, here ^s the book I sought for so ; 250 

I put it in the pocket of my gown. 

[Varro and Claudius lie down. 
Lucius. I was sure your lordship did not give it me. 
Brutus. Bear with me, good boy, I am much forgetful. 

Canst thou hold up thy heavy eyes awhile. 

And touch thy instrument a strain or two ? 
Lucius. Ay, my lord, an ^t please you. 



Sc. Ill] JULIUS CMSAR 73 

Brutus. It does, my boy : 

I trouble thee too much, but thou art willing. 

Lucius. It is my duty, sir. 

Brutus. I should not urge thy duty past thy might ; 
I know young bloods look for a time of rest. 260 

Lucius. I have slept, my lord, already. 

Brutus. It was well done ; and thou shalt sleep again ; 
I will not hold thee long : if I do live, 
I will be good to thee. {Music, and a song. 

This is a sleepy tune. murderous slumber, 
Lay^st thou thy leaden mace upon my boy. 
That plays thee music ? Gentle knave, good night ; 
I will not do thee so much wrong to wake thee : 
If thou dost nod, thou break^st thy instrument ; 
1^11 take it from thee ; and, good boy, good night. 270 
Let me see, let me see ; is not the leaf turn'd down 
Where I left reading ? Here it is, I think. {8its down. 

Enter the Ghost of C^sar. 

How ill this taper burns ! Ha ! who comes here ? 

I think it is the weakness of mine eyes 

That shapes this monstrous apparition. 

It comes upon me. Art thou any thing ? 

Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil. 

That mak^st my blood cold and my hair to stare ? 

Speak to me what thou art. 
Ghost. Thy evil spirit, Brutus. 

Brutus. Why com'st thou ? 280 

Ghost. To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi. 
Brutus. Well ; then I shall see thee again ? 
Ghost. Ay, at Philippi. 
Brutus. Why, I will see thee at Philippi, then. 

[Exit Ghost. 

Now I have taken heart thou vanishest : 

111 spirit, I would hold more talk with thee. 



74 JULIUS G^SAR [Act IV 

Boy, Lucius ! Varro ! Claudius ! Sirs, awake ! 

Claudius ! 
Lucius. The strings^ my lord, are false. 
Brutus. He thinks he still is at his instrument. 290 

Lucius, awake! 
Lucius. My lord ? 
Brutus. Didst thou dream, Lucius, that thou so criedst 

out ? 
Lucius. My lord, I do not know that I did cry. 
Brutus. Yes, that thou didst : didst thou see any thing ? 
Lucius. Nothing, my lord. 
Brutus. Sleep again, Lucius. Sirrah Claudius ! 

[ To Varro] Fellow thou, awake ! 
Varro. My lord ? 

Claudius. My lord ? 300 

Brutus. Why did you so cry out, sirs, in your sleep ? 
Varro. Claudius. Did we, my lord ? 
Brutus. Ay : saw you any thing ? 

Varro. No, my lord, I saw nothing. 
Claudius. Nor I, my lord. 

Brutus. Go and commend me to my brother Cassius ; 

Bid him set on his powers betimes before. 

And we will follow. 
Varro. Claudius. It shall be done, my lord. [Exeunt, 



ACT FIETH. 

Scene I. — The plains of PMlippi, 
Enter Octayius, Aktony, and tlieir Army. 

OcTAVius. jN"ow^ Antony, our hopes are answered : 

Yon said the enemy would not come down. 

But keep the hills and upper regions ; 

It proves not so : their battles are at hand ; 

They mean to warn us at Philippi here. 

Answering before we do demand of them. 
Ai^"TONT. Tut^ I am in their bosoms, and I know 

Wherefore they do it : they could be content 

To visit other places ; and come down 

With fearful bravery, thinking by this face 10 

To fasten in our thoughts that they have courage ; 

But ^tis not so. 

Enter a Messenger. 

Messengee. Prepare you, generals : 

The enemy comes on in gallant show ; 

Their bloody sign of battle is hung out. 

And something to be done immediately. 
AxTOiSTT, Octavius, lead your battle softly on. 

Upon the left hand of the even field. 
Octavius. Upon the right hand I ; keep thou the left. 
A]^TON"Y. Why do you cross me in this exigent ? 1^ 

Octavius. I do not cross you; but I will do so. [March, 



76 JULIUS C^SAR [Act V 



Drum. Enter Brutus, Cassius, and their Army ; Lucil- 
lus, TiTii^ius, Messala, and others. 

Brutus. They stand,, and would have parley. 
Cassius. Stand fast, Titinius : we must out and talk. 
OcTAVius. Mark Antony, shall we give sign of battle ? 
Antony. No, Caesar, we will answer on their charge. 

Make forth ; the generals would have some words. 
Octavius. Stir not until the signal. 
Brutus. Words before blows ; is it so, countrymen ? 
Octavius. Not that we love words better, as you do. 
Brutus. Good words are better than bad strokes, Octa- 
vius. 
Antony. In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good 
words : 30 

Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart. 

Crying, '^ Long live ! hail, Caesar ! " 
Cassius. Antony, 

The posture of your blows are yet unknown ; 

But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees. 

And leave them honeyless. 
Antony. Not stingless too. 

Brutus. 0, yes, and soundless too ; 

For you have stoFn their buzzing, Antony, 

And very wisely threat before you sting. 
Antony. Villains, you did not so, when your vile dag- 
gers 

Hacked one another in the sides of Caesar : 40 

You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like 
hounds, 

And bow'd like bondmen, kissing Caesar's feet ; 

Whilst damned Casca, like a cur, behind 

Struck Caesar on the neck. you flatterers ! 
Cassius. Flatterers ! Now, Brutus, thank yourself : 



Sc. I] JULIUS CMSAR 77 

This tongue had not offended so to-day. 

If Cassius might have ruled. 
OcTAYius. Come, come, the cause : if arguing make us 
sweat. 

The proof of it will turn to redder drops. 

Look ; 50 

I draw a sword against conspirators ; 

When think you that the sword goes up again ? 

Never, till Cgesar^s three and thirty wounds 

Be well avengM, or till another Caesar 

Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors. 
Bkutus. Caesar, thou canst not die by traitors' hands. 

Unless thou bring'st them with thee. 
OcTAYius. So I hope ; 

I was not born to die on Brutus' sword. 
Beutus. 0, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain, 59 

Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable. 
Oassitjs. a peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honour, 

Join'd with a masker and a reveller ! 
Ai!5"T0NT. Old Cassius still ! 
OcTAVius. Come, Antony, away ! 

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth : 

If you dare fight to-day, come to the field ; 

If not, when you have stomachs. 

[Exeunt Octavius, Aktony, and their xirmy. 
Cassius. Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim 
bark ! 

The storm is up, and all is on the hazard. 
Bkutus. Ho, Lucilius ! hark, a word with you. 
LuciLius. [Standing forth.'] My lord ? 

[Beutus a^id Lucilius converse apart. 
Cassius. Messala ! 

Messala. [Standing forth.] What says my general ? 
Cassius. Messala, 

This is my birth- day ; as this very day 71 



78 JULIUS G^SAR [Act V 

Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala : 

Be thou my witness that against my will. 

As Pompey was, am I compeird to set 

Upon one battle all our liberties. 

You know that I held Epicurus strong 

And his opinion : now I change my mind. 

And partly credit things that do presage. 

Coming from Sardis, on our former ensign 

Two mighty eagles fell, and there they perched, 80 

Grorging and feeding from our soldiers'' hands ; 

Who to Philippi here consorted us : 

This morning are they fled away and gone ; 

And in their steads do ravens, crows and kites 

Fly o^er our heads and downward look on us. 

As we were sickly prey : their shadows seem 

A canopy most fatal, under which 

Our army lies, ready to give up the ghost. 

Messala. Believe not so. 

Cassius. I but believe it partly ; 

For I am fresh of spirit and resolv'd 90 

To meet all perils very constantly. . , 

Beutus. Even so, Lucilius. 

Cassius. Now, most noble Brutus, 

The gods to-day stand friendly, that we may. 
Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age ! 
But since the affairs of men rest still incertain, 
Let^s reason with the worst that may befall. 
If we do lose this battle, then is this 
The very last time we shall speak together : 
What are you then determined to do ? 

Brutus. Even by the rule of that philosophy 100 

By which I did blame Cato for the death 
Which he did give himself : I know not how, 
But I do find it cowardly and vile. 
For fear of what might fall, so to prevent 



Sc. II] JULIUS Cu^SAB 79 

The time of life : arming myself with patience 
To stay the providence of some high powers 
That govern us below. 

Cassius. Then^ if we lose this battle. 

Yon are contented to be led in triumph 
Thorough the streets of Eome ? 

Brutus. No, Cassius, no : think not, thou noble Roman, 
That ever Brutus will go bound to Rome ; 111 

He bears too great a mind. But this same day 
Must end that work the ides of March begun ; 
And whether we shall meet again I know not. 
Therefore our everlasting farewell take : 
For ever, and for ever, farewell, Cassius ! 
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile : 
If not, why then this parting was well made. 

Cassius. For ever, and for ever, farewell, Brutus ! 

If we do meet again, we ^11 smile indeed ; 120 

If not, ^tis true this parting was well made. 

Brutus. Why, then, lead on. 0, that a man might 
know 
The end of this day^s business ere it come ! 
But it sufficeth that the day will end. 
And then the end is known. Come, ho ! away 1 

\^Exeunt. 

Scene II. — The field of battle. 

Alarum. Enter Brutus a7icl Messala. 

Brutus. Ride, ride, Messala, ride, and give these bills 
Unto the legions on the other side. \^Loud alarum. 

Let them set on at once ; for I perceive 
But cold demeanour in Octavius^ wing, 
x4nd sudden push gives them the overthrow. 
Ride, ride, Messala : let them all come down. {^Exeinit. 



80 JULIUS CJESAR [Act V 

SCEN"E III. — Another part of the field. 

Alarums. Enter Oassius and Titikius. 

CasSius. 0^ look, Titinius, look, the villains fly ! 
Myself have to mine own turned enemy : 
This ensign here of mine was turning back ; 
I slew the coward, and did take it from him. 

TiTiN^ius. Oassius, Brutus gave the word too early ; 
Who, having some advantage on Octavius, 
Took it too eagerly : his soldiers fell to spoil. 
Whilst we by Antony are all enclosed. 

Enter Pin"daeus. 

PiNDAEUS. My further off, my lord, fly further off ; 
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord : 10 

Ely, therefore, noble Oassius, fly far off. 

'Oassius. This hill is far enough. Look, look, Titinius ; 
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire ? 

TiTiKius. They are, my lord. 

Oassius. Titinius, if thou lov^st me. 

Mount thou my horse and hide thy spurs in him. 
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops 
And here again ; that I may rest assured 
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy. 

TiTiKius. I will be here again, even with a thought. 

[Exit. 

Oassius. Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill ; 20 

My sight was ever thick ; regard Titinius, 
And tell me what thou not'st about the field. 

[Pindarus ascends the hill. 
This day I breathed first : time is come round. 
And where I did begin, there shall I end ; 
My life is run his compass. Sirrah, what news ? 

PiifDARUS. [Above.] my lord ! 

Oassius. What news ? 



^c. Ill] JULIUS C^SAR 81 

PiNDAEUS. [Above.] Titinius is enclosed round about 

With horsemen^, that make to him on the spur ; 

Yet he spurs on. N"ow they are almost on him. 30 

]N"ow,, Titinius ! Now some light. 0, he lights too. 

He's ta'en. [Shout.] And, hark ! they shout for joy. 
Cassius. Come down, behold no more. 

0, coward that I am, to live so long. 

To see my best friend ta'en before my face ! 

[PiKDARUS descends. 

Come hither, sirrah : 

In Parthia did I take thee prisoner ; 

And then I swore thee, saving of thy life. 

That whatsoever I did bid thee do. 

Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine oath ; 

Now be a freeman : and with this good sword, 41 

That ran through Caesar's bowels, search this bosom. 

Stand not to answer : here, take thou the hilts ; 

And, when my face is covered, as 'tis now, 

Gruide thou the sword. [PijS'DARus stahs Mm.] Caesar, 
thou art reveng'd. 

Even with the sword that kill'd thee. [Dies. 

Piiq'DAEUS. So, I am free ; yet would not so have been, 

Durst I have done my will. Cassius ! 

Far from this country Pindarus shall run. 

Where never Eoman shall take note of him. [Exit. 

Re-enter Titin"ius with Messala. 

Messala. It is but change, Titinius ; for Octavius 51 

Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power. 

As Cassius' legions are by Antony. 
'TiTiiTius. These tidings will well comfort Cassius. 
Messala. Where did you leave him ? 
Titinius. All disconsolate. 

With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill. 
Messala. Is not that he that lies upon the ground ? 
6 



82 . JULIUS C^SAR [Act V 

TiTiNlus. He lies not like the living. my heart ! 

Messala. Is not that he ? 

TiTii^ius. No, this was he, Messala, 

But Cassius is no more. setting sun, 60 

As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night, 
So in his red blood Cassius^ day is set ; 
The sun of Rome is set ! Our day is gone ; 
Clouds, dews, and dangers come ; our deeds are done ! 
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed. 

Messala. Mistrust of good success hath done this deed. 
hateful Error, Melancholy^s child. 
Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men 
The things that are not ? Error, soon conceived. 
Thou never com'st unto a happy birth, 70 

But kilFst the mother that engendered thee ! 

TiTiKius. What, Pindarus ! where art thou, Pindarus ? 

Messala. Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet 
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report 
Into his ears : I may say, thrusting it ; 
For piercing steel and darts envenomed 
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus 
As tidings of this sight. 

Titinius. Hie you, Messala, 

And I will seek for Pindarus the while. 

[Exit Messala. 
Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius ? 80 

Did I not meet thy friends ? and did not they 
Put on my brows this wreath of victory. 
And bid me give it thee ? Didst thou not hear their 

shouts ? 
Alas^ thou hast misconstrued every thing ! 
But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow ; 
Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I 
Will do his bidding. Brutus, come apace. 
And see how I regarded Caius Cassius. 



Sc. IV] JULIUS C^SAR 83 

By your leave, gods : this is a Roman's part : 
Come, Oassius' sword, and find Titinius" heart. 90 

[Kills himself. 

Alarum. Re-enter Messala, with Brutus, young Cato, 
Steato, Volumnius, and Lucilius. 

Brutus. Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie ? 
Messala. Lo, yonder, and Titinius mourning it. 
Brutus. Titinius" face is upward. 
Cato. He is slain. 

Brutus. Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet ! 

Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords 

In our own proper entrails. [Loiv alarums. 

Cato. Brave Titinius ! 

Look, whether he have not crowned dead Cassius ! 
Brutus. Are yet two Romans living such as these ? 

The last of all the Romans, fare thee well ! 

It is impossible that ever Rome 100 

Should breed thy fellow. Eriends, I owe moe tears 

To this dead man than you shall see me pay. 

I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time. 

Come, therefore, and to Thasos send his body : 

His funerals shall not be in our camp. 

Lest it discomfort us. Lucilius, come ; 

And come, young Cato ; let us to the field. 

Labeo and Flavins, set our battles on : 

"Tis three o'clock ; and, Romans, yet ere night 109 

We shall try fortune in a second fight. \^Exeunt. 

Scene IV. — Another part of the field. 

Alarum. Enter, fighting, Soldiers of both armies; then 
Brutus, young Cato, Lucilius, and others. 

Brutus. Yet, countrymen, 0, yet hold up your heads ! 
Cato. What bastard doth not ? Who will go with me ? 



84 JULIUS C^SAR [Act V 

I will proclaim my name about the field : 
I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho ! 
A foe to tyrants, and my country^s friend ; 
I am the son of Marcus Cato, ho ! 
Beutus. And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I ; 

Brutus, my country^s friend ; know me for Brutus ! 

[Exit, charging the enemy. Young Cato is 
overpoivered, and falls. 
LuciLius. young and noble Cato, art thou down ? 
Why, now thou diest as bravely as Titinius ; 10 

And mayst be honourM, being Cato^s son. 
First Soldier. Yield, or thou diest. 
LuciLius. Only I yield to die : 

There is so much that thou wilt kill me straight ; 

[Offering money. 
Kill Brutus, and be honoured in his death. 
First Soldier. We must not. A noble prisoner ! 
Second Soldier. Eoom, ho ! Tell Antony, Brutus ia 

ta'en. 
First Soldier. I ^11 tell the news. Here comes the gen- 
eral. 

Enter Aittony. 

Brutus is ta^en, Brutus is ta'en, my lord. 

Aktony. Where is he ? 

LuciLius. Safe, Antony ; Brutus is safe enough : 20 
I dare assure thee that no enemy 
Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus : 
The gods defend him from so great a shame ! 
When you do find him, or alive or dead. 
He will be found like Brutus, like himself. 

Antoky. This is not Brutus, friend ; but, I assure you, 
A prize no less in worth : keep this man safe ; 
Give him all kindness : I had rather have 
Such men my friends than enemies. Go on. 
And see whether Brutus be alive or dead \ 30 



Sc. V] JULIUS C^SAR 8.=^' 

And bring us word unto Octavius^ tent 
How every thing is chanced. 

Scene V. — Another part of the field. 
Enter Brutus^ Dardanius^ Clitus, Strato, and 

VOLUMNIUS. 

Brutus. Come^ poor remains of friends, rest on tliis 

rock. 
Clitus. Statilius sliow^'d the torch-light, but, my lord. 

He came not back ; he is or ta^'en or slain. 
Brutus. Sit thee down, Clitus : slaying is the word ; 

It is a deed in fashion. Hark thee, Clitus. 

[ Whispering, 
Clitus. What, I, my lord ? No, not for all the world. 
Brutus. Peace then ! no words. 

Clitus. I ^11 rather kill myself . 

Brutus. Hark thee, Dardanius. {Whispering. 

Dardanius. Shall I do such a deed ? 

Clitus. Dardanius ! 

Dardanius. Clitus ! 10 

Clitus. What ill request did Brutus make to thee ? 
Dardanius. To kill him, Clitus. Look, he meditates. 
Clitus. Now is that noble vessel full of grief. 

That it runs over even at his eyes. 
Brutus. Come hither, good Volumnius ; list a word. 
VoLUMNius. What says my lord ? 
Brutus. Why, this, Volumnius: 

The ghost of Caesar hath appeared to me 

Two several times by night ; at Sardis once, 

And this last night here in Philippi fields : 

I know my hour is come. 
Volumnius. Not so, my lord. 30 

Brutus. Nay, I am sure it is, Volumnius. 

Thou seest the world, Volumnius, how it goes ; 



86 JULIUS GMSAR [Act V 

Our enemies liaise beat iis to the pit : \^Low alarums. 

It is more worthy to leap in ourselves. 

Than tarry till they push us. Good Volumnius, 

Thou know^st that we two went to school together : 

Even for that our love of old, I prithee. 

Hold thou my sword-hilts, whilst I run on it. 

VoLUMi^ius. That^s not an office for a friend, my lord. 

\^Alarum still. 

Olitus. Fly, fly, my lord ; there is no tarrying here. 30 

Brutus. Farewell to you ; and you ; and you, Volumnius. 
Strato, thou hast been all this while asleep ; 
Farewell to thee too, Strato. Countrymen, 
My heart doth joy that yet in all my life 
I found no man but he was true to me. 
I shall have glory by this losing day. 
More than Octavius and Mark Antony 
By this vile conquest shall' attain unto. 
So, fare you well at once ; for Brutus' tongue 
Hath almost ended his life's history : 40 

Mght hangs upon mine eyes ; my bones would rest. 
That have but laboured to attain this hour. 

[Alarum. Cry within ^ ^'Fly, fly, fly V 

Clitus. Fly, my lord, fly. 

Brutus. Hence ! I will follow. 

[Exeunt Olitus, Dardan^ius, and Volumnius. 
I prithee, Strato, stay thou by thy lord : 
Thou art a fellow of a good respect ; 
Thy life hath had some smatch of honour in it : 
Hold then my sword, and turn away thy face, 
While I do run upon it. Wilt thou, Strato ? 

Strato. Oive me your hand first. Fare you well, my 
lord. 

Brutus. Farewell, good Strato. [Runs on his sword.'] 

O^sar, now be still : 50 

I kiird not thee with half so good a will. [Dies. 



Sc. V] JULIUS G^SAR 87 

Alarum. Retreat. Enter Octavius, Antony, Messala, 
LuciLius^ and the Army. 

OcTAVius. What man is that ? 

Mess ALA. My master^s man. Strato, where is thy 

master ? 
Steato. Free from the oonaage you are in, Messala : 

The conquerors can but make a fire of him ; 

For Brutus only overcame himself, 

And no man else hath honour by his death. 
LuciLius. So Brutus should be found. I thank thee, 
Brutus, 

That thou hast prov'd Lucilius' saying true. 
OoTAVius. All that served Brutus, I will entertain them. 

Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me ? 61 

Stkato. Ay, if Messala will prefer me to you. 
OcTAVius. Do so, good Messala. 
Messala. How died my master, Strato ? 
Strato. I held the sword, and he did run on it. 
Messala. Octavius, then take him to follow thee. 

That did the latest service to my master. 
Antony. This was the noblest Eoman of them all : 

All the conspirators, save only he. 

Did that they did in envy of great Caesar ; 76 

He only, in a general honest thought 

And common good to all, made one of them. 

His life was gentle, and the elements 

So mix^d in him that Nature might stand up 

And say to all the world, '''This was a man \" 
OcTAYius. According to his virtue let us use him. 

With all respect and rites of burial. 

Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie, 

Most like a soldier, orderM honourably. 

So call the field to rest ; and let ^s away, 80 

To part the glories of this happy day. [Exeunt. 



4- 



NOTES 

ACT I 

Note on the Structure of the Act. The construction of this play 
is, on the whole, admirable. If it be the function of the first act of a 
drama to introduce, to give an exposition of the main situation or 
problem, and to make the auditors acquainted with the leading per- 
sonages of the story, then the first act of Julius Ccesar splendidly 
fulfils its purpose. The opening scene gives us the clue to the situa- 
tion. The excited mobs are rushing about to see " mighty Caesar '' 
in his triumphal progress ; they are to give him a rousing welcome, 
and then— they are checked by the conservative spirit in the persons 
of the two tribunes, chiding them for their fickleness and bidding 
them remember Pompey. An excellent prologue is this to the second 
scene of the act, the brilliant procession that shows Caesar in the full 
tide of glory, passing to the course. Note in this scene of Caesar's 
triumph the prefiguring of the tragedy, — a soothsayer bids him be- 
ware the ides of March, and from the general crowd emerge the two 
baleful figures of Brutus and Cassius, hereafter the leading con- 
spirators against Caesar. The insinuating manner of Cassius, the 
doubts and perplexities of Brutus, — these are admirably brought out 
before Caesar returns. And then again, observe the prevision of the 
end in Caesar's 

' ' Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look ; 
He thinks too much ; such men are dangerous. 

. . . . But I fear him not ; 
Yet, if my name were liable to fear, 
I do not know the man I should avoid 
So soon as that spare Cassius." 

Thus surely does Shakspere strike the keynote. The following talk be- 
tween Casca and Brutus and Cassius but carries on the same impression 
of Caesar's overweening confidence and power and the certainty thiV; 



90 NOTES [Act I 

Oassius will induce Brutus to join the conspirators. At the end of 
the episode this is the situation : the party of Cassius at any moment 
likely to attempt the overthrow of Caesar ; will Brutus — the grave, 
respected man of high ideals, necessary to give the proper sanction 
to the cause — throw in his lot with the conspirators ? The third 
scene does not carry further the dramatic idea, unless the securing of 
Casca be considered very important ; but with its accompaniment of 
thunder and storm and strange prodigies of nature it gives Shakspere 
a great opportunity to indulge his love of the weird and ghastly be- 
fore an occurrence of grim tragic import. A similar effect is created 
ill Macbeth by the dire portents of disaster before the murder of King 
Duncan. In other words, the third scene of the first act of Julius 
Ccesar is a more or less distinct bid for the favour of the ground- 
lings. Its splendid imagery and its poetical power prevent the 
judicious fro. gHe.i„, at its perhaps unnecessary detail. ^ 

Scene I 

" The Tragedie of Julius Caesar" in the Folio is divided into acts, 
but not into scenes. The first act is thus indicated : Actus Primus. 
Sccena Prima. Enter Flavins, Murellus, and certaine Commoners 
over the Stage. The stage direction " B,ome : a street" was inserted 
by Capell. Subsequent acts have the words " Scmna Prima " omitted. 
The name Murellus was changed by Theobald to Marullus, according 
to the spelling in North's Plutarch. 

Shakspeare is generally fortunate in hitting upon strong, natural 
introductions of this sort ; compare the street fight at the beginning 
of Romeo and Juliet, between the retainers of the rival houses of 
Montague and Capulet ; the uprising of the plebs against Coriolanus 
in the beginning of the first scene of Coriolanus ; the meeting of the 
parasites in the house of the spendthrift in the first scene of Timon 
of Athens, and the appearance of the Ghost to the guard, at the very 
outset, in Hamlet. In each case, it is through seemingly unimpor- 
tant incidents and persons that we get at the keynote of the tragedy. 

3. Being mechanical: that is, "being mechanics or labourers." 
It seems hardly necessary to follow Hudson in regarding mechanical 
as an adjective with the sense of a plural substantive. The word 
mechanical now has a different meaning, but the sense of the passage 
is clear enough. In any case, Shakspere took the word from his 
Plutarch : " Cobblers, tapsters, or suchlike base mechanical people." 
The modern tendency is more and more to omit the -al of such adj^sc 
tires a® mechanical, majestical, heroical, etc. 



Sc. I] NOTES 91 

3. Yoii ought not ivalk : See Introduction, § 18. There is still some 
doubt in Elizabethan English as to the omission or the use of to with 
the infinitive after certain verbs, conceived to have something of the 
character of auxiliaries. This doubt arose after the dropping of the 
infinitive termination -en and the substitution therefor of the sign 
to. The confusion is vs^ell shown in the lines quoted bv Guest from 
The Mirror for Magistrates : 

' ' And though we owe the fall of Troy requite, 
Yet let revenge thereof from gods to light." 

4. A labouring day : Labouring is here a substantive, not a par- 
ticiple. . . . '^A labouring day is an expression of the same kind 
with a walking stick or a riding coat ; in which it is not asserted 
that the stick walks or that the coat rides ; but two substantives 
being conjoined, the one characterises or qualifies the other, — per- 
forms, in fact, the part of an adjective, — just as happens in the 
expressions a gold ring, a leather apron, a morning call, the evening 
bells." — Craik. In other words, labouring is, as Rolfe explains, not 
the participle, but the verbal noun (or gerund), used as an adjective. 

4-5. Without the sig7i Of your profession : Shakspere is, perhaps, 
thinking of an English law to prevent artisans from going abroad 
"without the sign of their profession," 

5. What trade art thou : Note the colloquial omission of the prepo- 
sition of. According to Craik, the trade and the person practising 
it are used indifferently, the one for the other. Flavius here uses 
very properly thou to an inferior, especially in anger. See Introduc- 
tion, § 4. For a very interesting discussion of thou and you in Shaks- 
pere, cf. Abbott's Shaksperian Grammar, §§ 231-236. 

6. First Commoner : In the Folio, these commoners are called Car. 
(Carpenter) and Cob. or Cobl. (Cobbler) respectively. 

9. You, sir, ivhat trade are you : See Introduction, §4. Cf. on thou 
above and also observe that "when the appellative 'sir' is used, even 
in anger, thou (according to Abbott, § 232) generally gives place to 
you : 

' And what wilt thou do ? Beg, when that is spent ? 
Well, sir, get you in.' — As You Like It, i, 1, 79-80." 

12-3. Ansiver me directly : Cobbler, we see, was used for any kind 
of coarse workman; hence, the answer of the second commoner is not 
sufficiently explicit. ^ 

14-6. A trade . . . ivhich is . . . a mender of had soles : This 
line is cited by Craik to prove that trade was used indiscriminately 



02 NOTES [Act I 

for the trade or the person practising it. On the word of a cobbler, 
this statement seems to be true. , See on line 5 above. 

15-16. A mender of bad soles : Puns were in high favour with Eliza- 
bethan audiences, as they are to-day with the British auditors at 
British farces. Shakspere is not beyond indulging in quibbles of this 
sort even in his most serious passages (note Mark Antony's words 
when he first sees the body of the murdered Csesar), and critics have 
not been slow to condemn his habits in this respect. This long series 
of puns on soul (sole), awl (all), if you be out (in two senses), and 
recover (in two senses) is pi'obably but ' ' an appeal to the gallery "' ; 
one would like to think Shakspere's better judgment would have 
rejected it. Cf. the words of Cassius in the next scene, " Now is it 
Rome indeed and room enough," etc., a line which, in the connection 
in which it is used, must always grate on sensitive ears. For the 
cobbler's sole-soul quibble compare in The Merchant of Venice (iv, 1, 
123) : 

" Not on thy sole, but on thy soul, harsh Jew, 
Thou mak'st thy knife keen," 

17. What trade, thou knave : The Folio gives this line to 
Flavins. 

26. But ivith aivl. I am indeed, sir : The Cambridge editor and 
others adopt this suggestion for the Folio hut ivithal I am indeed, sir, 
etc. It is diificult to see how it improves the original reading, which 
is more fluent prose and equally intelligible. "What the cobbler 
means to say is, that although he meddles not with tradesmen's mat- 
ters, or women's matters, he is withal (making at the same time his 
little pun) a surgeon to old shoes." — White. Another reading is hut 
ivith all. I am, etc. 

28. Proper men: goodly, well appearing men ; a common use in 
Elizabethan drama. See Introduction, § 41. 

28-9. Neafs leather : Neat = A. S. neat, cow, ox, and (in plural) 
cattle. Cf. Merchant of Venice (i, 1, 112), "a neat's tongue dried ; " 
also the modern " neat's foot oil." 

Several editors have pointed out the use of these two expressions 
in The Tempest : "As proper a man as ever went on four legs" (ii, 
2, 58), and " He's a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat's 
leather " (ii, 2, 66). 

30. But wherefore aii not in thy shop to-day : Can you assign any 
reason for the tribune's speaking in verse ? Is there anything in 
his state of mind to account for it ? Conversely, why should the 



Sc. I] NOTES 93 

cobbler speak prose ? How do you account for the omission of tlie 
subject of art ? 

34. To see CcBsar and rejoice in his triumph : Caesar's fifth and 
last triumph, October, B.C. 45. It followed his victory over Gnaeus 
and Sextus Pompey, at Munda, B.C. 45. Plutarch tells us that this 
triumph "did as much offend the Romans, and more, than any- 
thing that ever he had done before : because he had not overcome 
captains that were strangers, nor barbarous kings, but had destroyed 
the sons of the noblest man of E-ome, whom fortune had over- 
thrown. And because he had plucked up his race by the roots, men 
did not think it meet for him to triumph so for the calamities of 
his country," etc. The unusualness of this proceeding makes the re- 
proach here the more bitter. Shakspere seems to place the triumph 
in B. c. 44. 

43. Your infants in your arms : Is this the exact equivalent of the 
Latin ablative absolute ? Is it a common English construction ? 

44-5. With patient expectation To see great Pompey pass the 
streets of Rome : How much of the effect of these lines is due to 
the alliteration on p P F, f, and v are, according to Robert Louis 
Stevenson, the letters of the alphabet most musical in alliteration. 

47. An universal shout : See Introduction, § 11. 

48. That Tiber trembled : Do you feel the need of a so before this 
result-clause ? See Introduction, § 33. 

49. Replication: Echo, reverberation. .See Introduction, §35. 
49. To hear the replication : A more common idiom would require 

the gerundive here, at or on hearing. Cf . in this play, "This disturbed 
sky Is not to ivalh in " (i, 3, 39-40). See Introduction, § 28. 

54. That comes in triumph : What is the antecedent of that 9 

57. Intermit : remit, or, better still, avert. 

61. Tiber banks: See Introduction, § 36, and compare "Here in 
Philippi fields " (v, 5, 19). 

64. Whether is pronounced as one syllable, and frequently printed 
ivhe'r or icher. The Folio reads ivhere. This contraction occurs else- 
where in Julius CcBsar. 

67. Tlie images of Caesar. 

68. Deck'd with ceremonies: A peculiar expression for ceremoni- 
ously decked. These ornaments are later referred to as trophies 
(i, 1, 72) and scarfs (i, 2, 283). 

70. The feast of Lupercal : Held in February in honour of Lupercus^. 
identified with Pan. The month was called Februarius from Februus, 
another name of the god. 



94 NOTES [Act 1 

73. I'll about : For the omission of the verb, see Introduction, § 22. 

73. The vulgar : the common people ; Latin vulgus. 

76. Pitch: A term in falconry used to denote the height a falcon flies. 

Scene II 

The Folio reads Enter CcBsar, Antony for the Course, Calphurnia, 
Portia, Decius, Cicero, Brutus, Cassius, Caska, a Soothsayer : after 
theni JIurellus and Flavius. Shakspere found the names Calphur^iia 
and Decius Brutus in North. The names of these people really were 
Oalpurnia and Decimus Brutus. 

3. In A7itonius'' way : The Folio reads Antonio's, using the Italian 
form with which the audience and the actors were more familiar. So 
in the Folio we find deerer than Pluto's [Plutus'J mine (iv, 3, 101). 
Antonius at this time was consul as well as priest of the Julian gens, 
and it was probably as chief of the Julian Luperci that he ran in the 
sacred course, in which priests all naked, except for a girdle about the 
loins, ran through the streets of the city, striking whomsoever they 
met with a thong of goat's hide. This festival of the Lupercalia was 
by way of a general expiation or purification. As Cffisar says, the 
touch of the thong of hide was supposed to ward off from women "the 
sterile curse." 

15. Press : crowd. Not common usage to-day. 

18. The Ides of March : "In the Eoman calendar the Kalends fell 
on the first day of each month, the Ides on the 15th in March, May, 
July, September (13th in other months), and the Nones on the 9th 
day before the Ides ( therefore on the 5th or 7th)." 

24. Sennet : A common word in Shakspere. A peculiar set of notes 
on a trumpet, used to signal the march of a procession. 

25. Go see the order of the course : Is this similar to the omission 
of ^ in " You ought not walk " (i, 1, 3) ? See Introduction, § 18. 

28. Gamesome : Fond of games or sport. See Introduction, § 35. 

33-4. That gentleness And show of love as : For the relative, see 
Introduction, § 7. Wont : accustomed. 

Caius Cassius Longinus had married Junia, a sister of Brutus. 
Both men had recently stood for the chief prcetorship of the city, and 
Brutus had won ; hence had come an estrangement between the 
brothers-in-law. Caesar's assigning the oflSee to Brutus was another 
cause of Cassius' animosity toward the dictator. In the following 
scene, and throughout the play, the student should observe how care- 
fully Shakspere follows the hint in Plutarch: "It is also reported, 
that Brutus could evil away with the tryanny, and that Cassius hated 



Sc. II] NOTES 95 

the tyrant ; " in other words, the distinction is between the idealist 
and the man with a particular grievance. 

41. Conceptions only proper to myself : A good instance of the so- 
called " misplaced only'"' Proper to myself : peculiarly my own. 

43. Behaviours : This plural is antiquated ; it is found elsewhere 
in Shakspere. 

45. Nor construe any further my neglect : Scan this line for Shak- 
spere's pronunciation of the verb, about which usage is divided to-day. 

46. Than that poor Brutus, etc. : What is the syntax here ? 
48. Mistook : For the form, see Introduction, § 17. 

53. But hy reflection hy some other things : It is impossible to make 
this a pleasant line, and some editors, following Pope, have changed 
the second hy of the Folio to from. At best, the line is prosaic. The 
meaning is that the eye sees itself only by reflection in or from 
mirrors (compare Cassius' answer), water, or some polished surface. 
For similai- thought and expression compare Troilus and Cressida 
(iii, 3, 105-111), 

" Nor doth the eye itself. 
That most pure spirit of sense, behold itself. 
Not going from itself ; but eye to eye opposed 
Salutes each other with each other's form ; 
For speculation turns not to itself 
Till it hath travell'd and is mirror'd there 
Where it may see itself." 

And, in the same play (iii, 3, 47-8), 

• ' Pride hath no other gla^ 
To show itself, but pride. " 

54. Just : true. 

58. Your shadow : your reflected image, as in Veniks and Adonis 
(162), "died to kiss his shadow in the brook." 

58-9. I have heard Where : Where is here used colloquially but 
idiomatically. Compare in Coriolanus (iv, 1, 16), "Resume that spirit, 
ivhen you were wont to say." 

62. His eyes : Does his refer to Brutus or loosely to " many of the 
best respect " ? 

71. Jealous on me : This use of on for of is vulgar to-day. Jealous : 
suspicious or doubtful, as in "That you do love me, I am nothing 
jealous " (i, 2, 162). 

72-4. Were I a common laugher ; if you know : Does this so-called 
" rhixed condition " seem in any way harsh or unnatural ? 



96 NOTES [Act I 

73. To stale : to make stale. See Introduction, § 39, and compare 
" Out of use and staVd by other men " (iv, 1, 38) ; in Antony and Cleo- 
patra (ii, 3, 239-40), " Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her 
infinite variety" ; in Goriolanus (i, 1, 89-90), "I will venture To 
stalest a little more," and in Troilus and Oressida (ii, 3, 186), " Must 
not so stale his palm." 

76. After: afterward. 

76. Scandal : See Introduction, § 38. Note in other plays Shaks- 
pere's energetic use : in Antony and Cleopatra (ii, 6, 13), "who the 
good Brutus ghosted''^ ; in Coriolanus (iii, 1, 44), "" ScandaVd the 
suppliants for the people " ; (iii, 1, 177), " We'll surety him " ; (iii, 3, 
133), ''V\\ mountebank their loves" ; (v, 3, 78-9), "My affairs Are 
servanted ; (v, 3, 11), "godded me" ; (v, 1, 5-6), "And knee The way 
into his mercy." 

78. Rout : assembly, crowd. 

85. Toward : Scan the line for the pronunciation of this 
"word. 

85. The general good : The good of the great body of the people. 
The general alone is sometimes used with a derogatory sense as in 
'• Caviare to the general " {Hamlet, ii, 3, 430). 

86. Set honour in one eye, etc. : The meaning of these lines can be 
more easily seen than logically analysed. Brutus wishes to say that 
he will go to death or honour impartially. 

87. Indifferently : impartially. 

88. Speed : prosper or bless. See Introduction, § 41, and compare 
our modern English "God speed." The later meaning, haste, is 
probably a derived one. 

91. Your outward favour: your looks, appearance. Compare the 
provincial "the child favours his father." 

95. I had as lief not he as live: According to Wright, "the play 
upon the world live which follows shows that lief was pronounced, as 
it is frequently written, lieve^ Lief is from the Anglo-Saxon leof, 
dear. The expression had as lief is idiomatic, if not quite so common 
now as formerly. See Introduction, § 37. 

101. Chafing with her shores: This curious use of with is probably 
a, survival of the original meaning, against. 

103. Leap in . . . into : Is this pleonasm disagreeable ? 

109. Hearts of controversy : contending courage; with hearts that 
contended against the flood. 

110. Arrive the point proposed : For the omission of the preposition, 
see Introduction, § 31. 



JSc. II] NOTES 97 

112. I: An excellent case of emphatic projepsis. The subject is 
repeated in line 115. 

This story of Cassius and the **tir'd Caesar" finds no verification 
in Suetonius or in Plutarch. Suetonius says {Julius GcBsar, Ivii), " If 
he (Caesar) was stopped by floods in the rivers, he swam across or 
floated on skins inflated with wind, so that he often anticipated in- 
telligence of his movements"; and again (JMZ^MS CiBsar, Ixiv), "At 
Alexandria, in the attack of a bridge, being forced by a sudden sally 
of the enemy into a boat, and several others hurrying in with him, 
he leaped into the sea, and saved himself by swimming to the next 
ship, which lay at the distance of two hundred paces, holding up his 
left hand out of the water, for fear of wetting' some papers which he 
held in it ; and pulling his general's cloak after him with his teeth, 
lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy." This same story is 
told by Plutarch. 

122. His coiva^rd lips did from their colour fly : The commentators 
hasten to add " like a deserter from his colours." 

123. Whose bend: whose inclination. What is the modern custom 
in regard to this use of whose, referring to things without life ? 

124. Mis lustre: On this use of his for its, see Introduction, § 2. 
The student must become thoroughly familiar with this bit of Shaks- 
perian usage. 

129. For the omission of that at the beginning of the line, see 
Introduction, § 33. 

129. Temper: nature or temperament. 

133. These applauses: Compare the use of the plural behaviours 
(i, 2, 42). 

136. A Colossus: of course referring to the famous Colossus of 
Rhodes. 

141. Underlings : What is the force of the termination -ling? Com- 
pare hireling, worldling, darling, etc. 

142. That ''CcBsar'": that word or name, "Caesar." 

152. The great flood of Deucalion. 

153. But it ivas fam'd with more than with one man: Hardly more 
euphonious than the line, "But by reflection by some other things" 
(i, 3, 53). 

155. Her wide ivalls : Rowe's suggestion for the " wide Walkes " 
of the Folio. Note the disagreeable assonance of taWd and ivalJcs in 
two successive lines. 

156. Borne . . . room : The editors justify Cassius' pun by 
asserting that the two words were pronounced very nearly if not quite 



98 NOTES [Act I 

alike in Shakspere's day. We had rather admit the probability of 
this than the taste of the quibble in the present circumstances. All 
critics are agreed in lamenting Shakspere's propensity to play upon 
words in passages of serious import. Compare note on souls and soles 
(i, 1, 15), and hart and heart (iii, 1, 208-9). Some commentators 
find the same pun in (iii, 1, 290) " No Rome (room) of safety for 
Octavius yet." Cf. King John (iii, 1, 79-80) : 

*' lawful let it be 
That I have room with Rome to curse awhile." 

157. One only man : one man only. 

159. There was a Brutus once : Lucius Junius Brutus who, as con- 
sul, after the expulsion of the Tarquins, condemned his own sons to 
death for attempting to bring them back. The Brutus of our play 
evidently assumes that he is descended from this man ; in reality, if 
Froude is right, he was of good plebeian stock, in no way related to 
the great Brutus. Concerning this disputed question compare Plu- 
tarch (North's translation, ed. Skeat, p. 106) : "Now touching his 
father, some, for the evil will and malice they bare unto Brutus, 
because of the death of Julius Caesar, do maintain, that he came not 
of Junius Brutus that drave out the Tarquins : for there were none 
left of his race, considering that his two sons were executed for con- 
spiracy with the Tarquins ; and that Marcus Brutus came of a mean 
house, the which was raised to honour and office in the commonwealth 
but of late time. Posidonius the Philosopher writeth the contrary, 
that Junius. Brutus indeed slew two of his sons which were men 
grown, as the histories do declare ; howbeit that there was a third 
son, being but a little child at that time, from whom the house and 
family afterwards was derived : and furthermore, that there were in 
his time certain famous men of that family, whose stature and 
countenance resembled much the image of Junius Brutus. And thus 
much for this matter." Much of the force of Shakspere's tragedy 
comes from the assumption by Brutus and his friends of 'Brutus' 
relationship to the great consul. 

159. Bi'ook'd : endured, tolerated. 

160, The eternal devil : Johnson thought Shakspere wrote infernal 
devil. Compare the Yankee use Harnal in ''a Harnal shame." The 
mention of the devil in ancient Rome is of a piece with Casca's " I 
would I might go to hell among the rogues" (i, 2, 266). 

162. That you do love me, etc. This speech of Brutus has much 



Sc. II] NOTES 99 

of 'the laconic style editors find in the more famous address to the 
multitude (iii, 2, 13 ff). Its short, balanced clauses are far from 
pleasant to the ear. As usual, Shakspere found the hint in his 
North's Plutarch (ed. Skeat, p. 107). "They do note in some of his 
Epistles, that he counterfeited that brief compendious manner of 
speech of the Lacedaemonians. As when the war was begun, he wrote 
unto the Pergamenians in this sort : I understand you have given 
Dolabella money ; if you have done it willingly, you confess you have 
offended me ; if against your wills, show it then by giving me will- 
ingly. Another time again unto the Samians : Your counsels be long, 
your doings be slow, consider the end. And in another Epistle he 
wrote unto the Patareians : The Xanthians despising my good will, 
have made their country a grave of despair, and the Patareians that 
put themselves into my protection, have lost no jot of their liberty : 
and therefore whilest you have liberty, either choose the judgement of 
the Patareians, or the fortune of the Xanthians. These were Brutus' 
manner of letters, which were honoured for their briefness." 

162. I am nothing jealous : I do not doubt. 

163. I have some aim : I can guess or conjecture. 

171. Chew upon this: Would the Latin equivalent " ruminate upon 
this " please us better here ? 

172. Had rather : See Introduction, § 27. 

173. Than to repute : The use of this grammatically unnecessary 
to rather unpleasantly checks the flow of the thought. 

174. These hard conditions as this time: For this form of the 
relative, see Introduction, § 7. The reader should now begin to 
notice this use for himself, without further direction. 

175. Is like : a common use in Shakspere for the more customary 
modern "is likely " 

177. Thus much shoiv of fire : "Wright refers to the description of 
Ajax's wit in Troilus and Cressida (iii, 3, 256) : "It lies as coldly 
in him as fire in a flint, which will not show without knocking." 
Compare also Brutus' own description of his cold nature (iv, 3, 
109, ff), 

" Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
That carries anger as the flint bears fire, 
Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark. 
And straight is cold again." 

181. Worthy note: The omission of the preposition of is hardly 
noticed ; it occurs elsewhere in Shakspere. 



100 NOTES [Act I 

186. Such ferret and such fiery eyes : The red eye is characteristic 
of the ferret. Note the use of ferret as an adjective. 

193. 0' nights : The old genitive ; now used adverbially. 

194. Yond: Often printed yond' ; but not a contraction of yonder. 
Old English had the three forms yon, yond, and yonder. 

194, A lean and hungry look : For Caesar's opinion of fat and of 
lean men, cf. Plutarch (ed. Skeat, p. 97): "Caesar also had Cas- 
sius in great jealousy and suspected him much ; whereupon he said 
on a time to his friends, ' What will Cassius do, think ye ? I like 
not his pale looks.' Another time, when CaBsar's friends complained 
unto him of Antonius and Dolabella that they pretended some mischief 
towards him ; he answered them again, 'As for those fat men and 
smooth combed heads,' quoth he, ' I never reckon of them ; but these 
pale visaged and carrion lean people, I fear them most, ' meaning 
Brutus and Cassius." 

204. He hears no music : We know from the Merchant of Venice 
(v, 1, 83-5) that Shakspere considers 

" The man that hath no music in himself. 
Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds 
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils." 

208. Be : See Introduction, § 15. 

209. Whiles : The genitive singular of while (originally a noun) : 
hwil, time. Whilst = whil(e)s-t, is a later form. See note on 
o' nights, 193, above. 

223. A-shouting : An earlier form in English is on shouting. It 
was the shortening of the preposition to a- and its final omission 
that led to the abandonment of the idiomatic "the house is in 
(or a-) building" (later "the house is building") in favour of the 
modern and clumsy "the house is being built." Compare Troilus 
and Cressida (i, 3, 159) : "'Tis like a chime a-mending " ; and Corio- 
lanus (iv, 2, 5) : " When it was a-doing.^' 

229. Marry : This common Shaksperian exclamation is originally 
from the name of the Virgin Mary. 

230. Gentler: See Introduction, § 13. 

237. Yet 'twas not a crown, neither : In Shakspere neither is fre- 
quently used for emphasis after a negative statement. 

239. Fain : willingly or gladly. 

240. Then he offered it to him again : From this point on, note the 
confusion of reference in Casca's personal pronouns. 

244. Rahhlement : See Introduction, §35. 



Sc. II] NOTES 101 

244. Shouted : The Folio has Jioivted. 

For the scene described in Casca's speech, compare North's Plu- 
tarch, Life of Antotiius (ed. Skeat, p. 163) : " Antonius being one 
among the rest that was to run, leaving the ancient ceremonies and 
old customs of that solemnity, he ran to the tribune where Csesar 
was set, and carried a laurel crown in his hand, having a royal band 
or diadem wreathed about it, which in old time was the ancient mark 
and token of a king. When he was come to Cassar, he made his fellow 
runners with him lift him up, and so he did put his laurel crown upon 
his head, signifying thereby that he had deserved to be king. But 
Cgesar making as though he refused it, turned away his head. The 
people were so rejoiced at it, that they all clapped their hands for joy. 
Antonius again did put it on his head : Caesar again refused it ; and 
thus they were striving off and on a great while together. As oft as 
Antonius did put this laurel crown unto him, a few of his followers 
rejoiced at it : and as oft also as Caesar refused it, all the people 
together clapped their hands. And this was a wonderful thing, that 
they suffered all things subjects should do by commandment of their 
kings : and yet they could not abide the name of a king, detesting it 
as the utter destruction of their liberty. Cffisar in a rage arose out of 
his seat, and plucking down the collar of his gown from his neck, he 
showed it naked, bidding any man strike off his head that would. 
This laurel crown was afterwards put upon the head of one of Caesar's 
i< statues or images, the which one of the tribunes plucked off. The 
people liked his doing therein so well, that they waited on him home 
to his house, with great clapping of hands. Howbeit Caesar did turn 
them out of their offices for it.''^ 

253. The falling sicJctiess : or epilepsy. Compare Suetonius' Julius 
Ccesar, xlv: "He enjoyed excellent health, except towards the close 
of his life, when he was subject to fainting fits, and disturbance in 
his sleep. He was likewise twice seized with the falling sickness 
while engaged in active service." 

257. Tag-rag people : Compare Coriolanus (iii, 1, 248): "Before 
the tag return." 

259. As they use to do : We use this construction now only in the 
past tense. 

263-4. Se plucked me ope his doublet : For the construction of me, 
see Introduction, §6, and compare (iii, 3, 18) "You'll bear me a 
bang for that, I fear ; " also in Borneo and Juliet (iii, 1, 6) : "Claps 
me his sword upon the table." The usage is very common in Shak- 
spere. 



102 NOTES [Act 1 

264. His doublet : Shakspere evidently conceived of his Romans 
as dressed in the habit of his own day ; compare also (ii, 1, 73-4,^ 
"Their hats are pluck'd about their ears and half their faces buried 
in their cloaks." The suggestion as to the doublet, however, Shak- 
spere may have received from North's Life of Julius Ccesar (ed. 
Skeat, p. 95), "And tearing open his doublet-collar, making his neck 
bare, he cried out," etc. 

265. An ; if ; a very common word in old English. See Introduc- 
tion, § 41. 

266-7. To hell among the rogues : The Roman Casca must have 
known as little of the Englishman's idea of hell as of the shape of his 
doublet. 

270. Wenches : As ordinarily in Shakspere used of a loutish girl, 
without any special derogatory sense. 

281-2. JPor mine own part it was Oreeh to me : If Plutarch is right 
{Life of Marcus Brutus, ed. Skeat, p. 119), " Casca [at the killing of 
Caesar] on the other side cried in Greek, and called his brother to 
help him." Either Shakspere was ignorant of this supposed knowl- 
edge of Casca's, or (as is likely) he makes Casca use the proverb 
without thinking of its import. In fact, Casca's ideas are strongly 
English in flavour. 

282-3. MaruUus and Flavins, for pulling scarfs off Ccesar^s images, 
are put to silence : Suetonius says that Marullus and Flavins sim- 
ply ordered a laurel wreath encircled with a white fillet (the latter a 
sign of royalty) to be removed from a statue of Caesar. " Cgesar," he 
continues, ' ' being much concerned either that the idea of royalty had 
been suggested to so little purpose, or, as was said, that he was thus 
deprived of the merit of refusing it, reprimanded the tribunes very 
severely, and dismissed them from office. " Plutarch's account (Life 
of Julius Coesar, ed. Skeat, p. 96) is different in detail, but the same 
°in substance : "There were set up images of Caesar in the city, with 
diadems upon their heads like kings. Those the two tribunes, Flavins 
and Marullus, went and pulled down, and furthermore, meeting with 
them that first saluted Caesar as king, they committed them to prison. 
The people followed them rejoicing at it and called them Brutuses, 
because of Brutus who had in old times driven the kings out of Rome. 
Caesar was so offended withal, that he deprived Marullus and Flavins 
of their tribuneships. " 

287. I am promised forth: Shakspere uses forth where we should use 
out. Compare Merchant of Venice (ii, 5, 11): ''I am bid forth to 
supper, Jessica." 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 103 

294. Quick mettle: of a lively spirit. We still use "mettlesome 
horses. " 

307-8. May be wrought From that it is disposed: For the construc- 
tion, see Introduction, § 9. 

309. Their likes: This expression has degenerated in modern Eng- 
lish. Careful speakers are chary of saying " The likes of you." Many 
Shaksperian expressions that have now passed from literary use 
survive vigorously in the common speech of to-day. 

310. Eor who so firm that cannot be seduc'd: The omission of he, as 
subject of cannot, is hardly felt. 

311. Caesar doth bear me hard: This expression (to bear one hard) 
used three times in Julius Ccesar, here, in ii, 1, 215, and in iii, 1, 158, 
occurs nowhere else in Shakspere. Professor Hales quotes from Ben 
Jonson's Catiline, iv, 5 : " Ay, though he bear me hard, 1 yet must do 
him right." The expression has produced much learned discussion 
which it is hardly necessary to enter into for the benefit of beginners 
in Shakspere. 

313. He should not humour me : The he is probably Brutus. 

314. In several hands: in several handwritings. 

316. All tending to the great opinion: all showing, or having for 
their tenour, the great opinion. 

319-20. The rhymed couplet was ordinarily used by the Elizabethan 
dramatists to mark the end of a scene. 

Scene III 

The Folio reads simply Thunder, and lightning. Enter CasTca, 
and Cicero. The other stage directions have been added by Rowe 
and later editors. See the Introductory Note on the fondness of 
Shakspere for these disturbances in the elements as accompaniments 
to events of tragic horror. There is an interval of about one month 
between this scene and the preceding. From Acts II and III we con- 
jecture that the present scene occurs the night before the death af 
CsBsar. 

1. Brought: accompanied. 

3. The sway of earth: " the balanced swing of earth " (Craik) ; " the 
whole weight or momentum of this globe " (Johnson). 

4. fTn^rm; unsteady. "In 'unfirm' the negative is more promi- 
nent than in ' infirm.' * Unfirm ' is not firm, while ' infirm * is weak." 
— Wright. 

6. Riv'd: This verb survives, practically, only in the participle 
riven. Cf. (iv, 3, 84) " Brutus hath riv'd my heart." 



104 NOTES [Act I 

12. Saucy: This word evidently had a wider meaning in Shak- 
spere's day than in ours. 

13. Incenses them to send destruction Sean this line. Shakspere 
frequently makes a dissyllable of the termination -ion, just as he 
frequently slides it over in hypermetric lines like 34, below. 

14. Why, saw you anything more wonderful : Compare the account 
of these prodigies in North's Plutarch, Life of Julius Ccesar (ed. 
Skeat, p. 97): "Certainly destiny may easier be foreseen than avoided, 
considering the strange and wonderful signs that were said to be seen 
before Ctesar's death. For, touching the fires in the element, and 
spirits running up and down in the night, and also the solitary bird? 
to be seen at noondays sitting in the great market-place, are not all 
these signs perhaps worth the noting, in such a wonderful chance as 
happened ? But Strabo the philosopher writeth, that divers men were 
seen going up and down in fire : and furthermore, that there was a 
slave of the soldiers that did cast a marvellous burning flame out ol 
his hand, insomuch as they that saw it thought he had been burnt ; 
but when the fire was out, it was found he had no hurt," etc. For 
another account, compare Hamlet (i, 1, 113 ff.): 

" In the most high and palmy state of Rome, 
A little ere the mightiest Julius fell, 
The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 
Did speak and gibber in the Roman streets. 

As stars with trains of fire and dews of blood," etc. 

20-1. A lion, who: Who is frequently used for which, and vice 
versa, in Elizabethan English. Compare the beginning of the Lord's 
prayer. See Introduction, § 7. 

21. Glar'd : Corrected by Rowe from the Folio glaz'd. ' 

23. Ujjon a heap: in a crowd. Heap is here used in its original 
Anglo-Saxon meaning. Compare Richard III (ii, 1, 53) : "Amongst 
this princely heap.^' See Introduction, § 41. 

26. The bird of night : Compare Hamlet {i, 1, 160): "The bird of 
dawning." 

30. These are their reaso7is: What is the force of these in this 
passage ? 

32. Climate: clime. 

35. Clean from the purpose : To-day a rather vulgar use. Compara. 
the slang expression, " he is clean off." 

39-40. lliis disturbed shy Is not to walk in : For the construction, 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 105 

see Introduction, § 28. Sky : weather ? Abbott (§ 405) explains by 
supplying fit : This sky is not (fit) to walk in (or under). 

42. Wliat night is this : Literally this exclamation seems to be a 
question. For the omission of a, see Introduction, § 12. 

47. Submitting me : See Introduction, § 5. 

48. TJiibraced : Again Shakspere is thinking of the dress of his own 
time. 

49. The thunder-stone : The thunder bolt, which was believed to 
fall with the lightning. Compare Cymbeline (iv, 2, 271) : 

"Fear no more the lightning flash, 
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone." 

50. Cross blue lightning : zig-zag blue lightning. 

60. Cast yourself in wonder : Thus the Folio, but Richard Grant 
White substitutes ^^ case yourself," etc. 

62-68. If you would consider . . . you shall find : A change 
from the less vivid- to the morevivdd future condition. What is the 
force of the shall in the conclusion ? 

65. Why old men fool, etc. : Mitford's conjecture from the Folio 
reading, "Why old men, Fooles, and Children calculate." 

71. Unto some monstrous state: "That is, I suppose, some 
monstrous or unnatural state of things, not some overgrown common- 
wealth . ' ' — Craih. 

76. A man no worthier than thyself or me : What is the gram- 
matical construction of me 9 Compare our colloquial "it is we." 
See Introduction, § 1. 

81. Like to their ancestors : Modern usage is more inclined to omit 
the to after like. 

82. Woe the ivhile : a shorter form of Woe ivorth the while ! 
(Worth from the Anglo-Saxon wir^an, to become.) 

83. Governed with : Still used for govern'd by. Compare (iii, 2, 
197) : " Here is himself, marr'd, as you see, with traitors." See 
Introduction, § 30. 

87. And he shall ivear his crown : Explain this use of shall witli 
the third person. 

93. Nor stony tower, nor walls : Nor . . . 7ior and or . . . 
or for the less poetical neither . . . nor and either . . . or is 
rather common in this play. 

102. To cancel : A pun with bondman, in the line above. 

106. He were no lion, ivere not Romans hinds : Thoroughly analyse 
this sentence, explaining the form of the verbs. 



106 NOTES [Act I 

114. My ansiver must he made: "I shall be called to account and 
must answer as for seditious words " (Johnson). 

116-7. Such a man That, etc.: See Introduction, §7. 

117. Fleering : grinning, sneering. 

118. Be factious : get up a faction or party. 

120. As who goes farthest : as whoever goes farthest. 

123. Undergo : undertake. 

124. Honourable-dangerous : See Introduction, § 37. Compare in 
Troilus and Cressida (iv, 2, 14): ''With wings more momentary- 
swift than thought." 

126. In Pompey' s porch : " The Theatre and Curia of Pompey were 
in the Campus Martius, and it was here, according to Plutarch, that 
the Senate met and Caesar was assassinated ; but Shakspere transfers 
the scene of the assassination to the Capitol and makes Pompey 's 
theatre the place where the conspirators met." — Wright. 

129. In favour's liTce : Johnson's conjecture for " Is Fauors," 
etc., of the Folio. * 

130. Most bloody, fiery, etc. : Dyce reads "Most bloody-fiery.'' 
Cf. honourable-dangerous, above. 

137. What a fearful 7iight is this : Compare note on "What night 
is this !" (line 42, above). 

• 138. There's two or three of us : colloquial, if not grammatical, to 
this day. See Introduction, § 23. 

143. In the prcetor's chair : See North's Plutarch (ed. Skeat, p. 
112) : " But for Brutus, his friends and countrymen, both by divers 
procurements and sundry rumours of the city, and by many bills 
also, did openly call and procure him to do that he did. For under 
the image of his ancestor Junius Brutus (that drave the kings out of 
Rome) they wrote : ' 0, that it pleased the gods that thou wert now 
alive, Brutus ! ' and again, ' that thou wert here among us now ! ' 
His tribunal or chair, where he gave audience during the time he was 
Praetor, was full of such bills : ' Brutus, thou art asleep, and art not 
Brutus indeed.' " 

As to Brutus and the praetorship, see note on i, 2, 33-4. 

146. Old Brutus' statue : As to the force of thus connecting Marcus 
Brutus with Lucius Junius Brutus, see note on i, 2, 159. 

148. Is Decius Brutus and Treboriius there : See note on line 137, 
above. On the spelling Decius, see note at the beginning of Scene ii 

150. Hie : hasten. Compare Hamlet (i, 1, 154) : 

" The extravagant and erring spirit hies 
To his confine." 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 10? 

152. Pompey's theatre : a huge stone edifice seating 40,000 people. 

154-0. Three parts of Mm Is : See on line 148, abore. 

159. Alchemy : the old art of turning base metals into gold. 

162. Conceited : imagined. This meaning has survived in rural 
districts. ''It is only your conceit" means sometimes "it is only 
your imagination." 

QUESTIONS 

I. What is the dramatic effect of the first scene of the act ? 2. What 
bearing has it on later scenes ? 3. Does it represent in a general or 
in a particular way the feeling of those opposed to Caesar ? 4. What 
ideal of Roman citizenship is typified in Flavins and Marullus ? 

5. Are your sympathies excited for or against these tribunes ? Why? 

6. Can yon get at their feelings from the style and cadence of the lan- 
guage they use ? 7. Can you find, in the attitude -of the " Common- 
ers," anything to indicate the state of the Roman mind toward the old 
constitutional form of government ? 8. Would this seem to show 
any degeneracy on the part of the Roman plebs f 9. How much of 
the history of Rome do you know, leading up to the events described 
in our play ? 10. Was Caesar a unique development in Roman history, 
or was he the last of a line of innovators ? 

II. What do you imagine to have been in Shakspere's day the 
stage picture at the beginning of the second scene ? 12. Did it 
at all approach the Rome with which the real Caesar must have 
been familiar ? 13. Can you imagine this stage pageant as a bit of 
ancient Rome, its composition as to buildings, costumes of the 
actors, etc. ? 14. What is the effect on the audience of the words of 
the soothsayer ? 15. Can you judge of Caesar's state of mind by his 
reply to the soothsayer ? 16. Is there any special fitness in making 
Brutus say, "A soothsayer bids you beware the Ides of March" ? 
17. Can you notice any manifestation of character in the speech and 
language of Brutus and of Cassius ? 18. Is there any difference in 
effect between the speeches of the two men ? 19. If so, to what do 
you attribute it ? 20. To which of these men do your sympathies go 
out most directly ? 21. Why does Cassius wish to win Brutus to liis 
side ? 23. Why does Cassius recall to Brutus the deeds of Lucius Ju- 
nius Brutus ? 23. What is the dramatic significance of this ? 24. What 
is your idea of the appearance of Brutus and of Cassius ? 25. Win- 
does Casca speak prose ? 26. What was the character of Casca? 
How do you know ? 27. What idea do you get of Caesar and of 
Antony from the brief speeches accorded them in this scene ? 28. Can 



108 NOTES [Act II 

you make the speech of Cassius at the end of the scene fall in line 
with your conception of his character ? 29. Is there a suggestion 
of ignobleness in it ? 30. Whence does this suggestion come? 

31. Do you see the dramatic propriety of the third scene? 82. What 
do you think of the poetry in which the prodigies and portents 
are told ? 33. Can you parallel this scene with similar bits from 
your own reading ? 34. Does the portrait of Cicero agree with what 
you know of the man ? 35. Is there any difference between the 
Casca of this scene and the Casea of the preceding scene ? 36. In 
what does this difference consist and to what do you attribute it ? 
37. Does your impression of Cassius receive any strengthening in this 
scene ? 38. Does his character seem to have developed in any way ? 
39. What is your opinion of the whole act — as to structure, develop- 
ment, and general interest ? 

ACT II 

Note on the Structure of the Act. — The two things necessary 
for the poet's scheme in this act are (1) to show the completion of the 
plans of the conspirators and (2) to trace the development in the 
character of Brutus which leads him to join against Caesar. The latter 
is the more important from the standpoint of Shakspere, who has 
made Brutus his chief character. In the first act we see this noble 
Roman perplexed, and vacillating between his love for Caesar and his 
love for his country. At the first of the second act, he is clearly 
about to let the latter prevail ; the virus of Cassius' words has entered 
his soul. There is but a brief struggle further, an anonymous letter 
or two, and lo! he is ready to meet the conspirators. That midnight 
meeting in Brutus' orchard is, on the stage, a picture of grim fascina- 
tion; it is the undercurrent of the stream on which Caesar is riding, 
quite unconscious, to his doom ; and it is in high contrast to Caesar's 
festal procession in Act I. Here, too, occurs the first difference 
of opinion between Brutus and Cassius, with the invariable and in- 
evitable result. Brutus wins and Antony is not to die with Caesar, — 
Brutus' first great political error. The scene between Brutus and 
Portia, after the conspirators leave, though one of the most charming 
m Shakspere, is of little dramatic value to the play, except as added 
evidence to the nobleness of the character of Brutus. The second 
scene — in Caesar's palace — at the beginning merely recounts incidents 
similar to those described in Act I, Scene III ; here, however, the 
audience sees Caesar apply the prodigies particularly to himself. The 



Sc. I] NOTES 109 

passage depicts the next stage in the progress toward the climax, — 
CaBsar consents to go to the Capitol, where, as the spectator knows, 
the conspirators mean to slay him. The third and fourth scenes are 
almost anti-climax after this great moment of the play; the first 
merely shows Artemidorus preparing to warn CjBsar, the second gives 
a pretty development of the character of Portia. Neither is essential 
to the main action, and both might be omitted in representation. 

Scene I 

The Folio reads, Enter Brutus in his Orchard. It will be noted 
that orchard in Shakspere generally means garden; cf. "the private 
arbours and new-planted orchards " (iii, 2, 250). Some of the action 
of Much Ado about Nothing takes place in Leonato's orchard ; the 
King in Samlet ^Yas slain, "sleeping in his orchard"; Romeo and 
Juliet exchanged their vows of love in Capulet's orchard ; and, finally, 
Sir Andrew Aguecheek " saw't i' the orchard " that Olivia did "more 
favours to the count's serving man than ever she bestowed upon me " 
(Twelfth Night, iii, 3, 4-6). 

10. It must he by his death, etc. : Note the resemblance in general 
style and movement between this soliloquy and Hamlet's famous 
soliloquy (Samlet, iii, 1, 56 ff.): 

" To be, or not to be: that is the question: 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep ; 
No more; and by a sleep to say we end," etc. ; 

one of the resemblances that would point to the near proximity of 
the two plays in time of production. On this soliloquy of Brutus, 
with its curious reasoning, compare Coleridge : 

" Surely nothing can seem more discordant with our historical pre- 
conceptions of Brutus, or more lowering to the intellect of the Stoico- 
Platonic tyrannicide, than the tenets here attributed to him — to him, 
the stern Roman republican ; namely, that he would have no objec- 
tion to a king, or to Caesar, a monarch in Rome, would Caesar but be 
as good a monarch as he now seems disposed to be! How, too, could 
Brutus say that he found no personal cause — none in Caesar's past con- 
duct as a man? Had he not crossed the Rubicon? Had he not 
entered Rome as a conqueror? Had he not placed his Gauls in the 
Senate ? " 



110 NOTES [Act II 

11. Spurn at Mm: For the more usualconstruction, compare '*I 
spurn thee like a cur out of my way" (iii, 1, 46). 

12. For the general : because of the people or the community — not 
for the general cause. Compare Hamlet (ii, 2, 430), "For the play, 
I remember, pleased not the million; 'twas caviare to the general" ; 
and Troilus and Cressida (i, 3, 340): 

" For the success. 
Although particular, shall give a scantling 
Of good or bad unto ^Ae ^eweraZ. " 

15. And that craves wary walking: "It might be questioned 
whether that here be the demonstrative (as it is generally considered), 
or the relative (to the antecedent ' the bright day 'j." — Craik. 

19. Remorse : usually in Shakspere, mercy or pity. Here it seems 
to mean conscience or reason — possibly consideration of consequences: 
"I have not known when his affections sway'd more than his reason^ 
For this meaning, compare Troilus and Cressida {ii, 2, 113 ff.): 

' ' Now, youthful Troilus, do not these high strains 
Of divination in our sister work 
Some touches of remorse 9 or is your blood 
So madly hot that no discourse of reason, 
Nor fear of bad success in a bad cause, 
Can qualify the same ? " 

20. Affections : passions, as often in Shakspere. 

21. Proof: object of proof. 

24. Upmost : uppermost is now more common. Compare on utter- 
most (ii, 1, 213). 

26. The iase degrees : the lower steps ; the original meaning of 
degrees is seen in this passage. 

31. These and these extremities : such and such extremities. Cf. 
" These are their reasons " (i, 3, 30). 

34. And kill him in the shell : There is a momentary confusion in 
the mind of the reader as to the subject of kill. Some editors remove 
the difficulty by placing a semicolon after dangerous. 

35. Burneth : Lucius is rather fond of large, quaint expressions. 
Compare his " Sir, March is wasted fifteen days " (ii, 1, 59). 

36-7. I found This paper thus seaVd up : It will be remembered that 
Cassius at the end of the second scene of the first act threatened to 
throw that night several such papers " in several hands "in at Brutus' 
windows. In the last scene of the same act he directs Cinna to ' ' throw 



Sc. T] NOTES 111 

this [paper] in at his window," The result is seen in Brutus' remark 
below : " Such instigations have been often dropp'd where I have 
took them up." 

40. To-morrow : It was already past midnight. 

40. The Ides of March : Theobald's change for the Folio reading, 
" The ^rs^ of March." 

44. The exhalations : the wonders described in Act I, Scene III. 

50. Where I have took them up : Explain the form tools, 

53. My ancestors: Shakspere's Brutus seems to have no doubt of 
his ancestry, such as that hinted at in the note on i, 2, 159. 

59. March is wasted fifteen days : the Folio reading, which Theo- 
bald changed to " March is wasted fourteen days." Yet Lucius com- 
puted as the ordinary Englishman or Horn an would have done. 

65. Phantasma : vision or nightmare. Compare the modern form 
phantom. 

66. The genius and the mortal instruments : the spiritual and the 
bodily powers. 

67. The state of man : The Folio reads "the state of a man." 

69. The nature of an insurrection : something like an insurrec- 
tion. 

70. Your brother Cassius : It will be remembered that Cassius had 
married Brutus' sister, Junia, 

72. Moe : more. See Introduction, § 35. 

73. Their hats are plucJc'd about their ears : Compare the note on 
doublet {i, 2, 264). "The Roman _p*7ew6' was a close-fitting cap of 
felt without any brim ; and the petasus was only worn to keep off the 
sun. Shakspere dressed his Romans in the slouched hats of his own 
time. " — Wright. 

76. By any marJc of favour : Another of Lucius' quaint circumlo- 
cutions. 

77. conspiracy : This soliloquy of Brutus seems a little forced 
and hollow. It should be noted that the tendency in modern drama 
is to do away entirely with soliloquies and " asides," which certainly 
are unnatural and helpless devices to give to the auditor information, 
as to the state of mind of the character who employs them. 

78. Sham'st thou : used intransitively, as in Macbeth, ii, 2, 64-5 : 
" I shame To wear a heart so white." 

83. For if thou path : See Introduction, § 38. The Folio reading 
and perhaps a misprint ; but the meaning is clear enough without 
stirring up linguistic bugbears. 

84. Erebus: here used for the lower world in general. 



11^.' NOTES [Act II 

85. Prevention : in its original sense of anticipation (that would 
lead to prevention in the modern meaning of the word). 

90-91. And no tnari here But honors you : Parse but. 

95. Decius Brutus : On the form Decius, compare note, page 94. 

99. Betwixt: now somewhat antiquated, and even inelegant in 
comparison with between. 

101. Here lies the east : This discussion as to the points of the 
compass and the position of the sun is one of the most delightfully 
natural and human touches in the play. Compare Caesar's "Come 
on my right hand, for this ear is deaf " (i, 2, 213). 

104. Fret : bar or cross. See Skeat, on the noun fret : "a kind of 
grating. ... A term in heraldry, meaning a bearing composed 
of bars crossed and interlaced." 

108. Weighing : The participle does not qualify sun, but refers to 
the speaker : that is, " considering," or " when one considers." 

114. No, not an oath: Compare North's Plutarch, Life of Marcus 
Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 114): "Furthermore, the only name and 
great calling of Brutus did bring on the most of them to give 
consent to this conspiracy : who, having never taken oaths together, 
nor taken or given any caution or assurance, nor binding themselves 
one to another by any religious oaths, they all kept the matter so 
secret to themselves, and could so cunningly handle it, that notwith- 
standing the gods did reveal it by manifest signs and tokens from 
above, and by predictions of sacrifices, yet all this would not be be- 
lieved." 

The grammatical structure of Brutus' speech in the play is more 
obscure than the sense. As to the similar broken construction of 
Brutus when he learns of the death of his wife, Craik says : "This 
speech is throughout a striking exemplification of the tendency of 
strong emotion to break through the logical forms of grammar, and 
of how possible it is for language to be perfectly intelligible some- 
times, with the grammar in a more or less chaotic or uncertain 
state." 

115. Sufferance: suffering. See Introduction, § 41. 

118. High-sighted tyranny : Wright compares the lines at the end 
of the first scene of Act I, 

" Will make him fly an ordinary pitch, 
Who else would soar above the view of men." 

Note also the description of " young ambition " in the beginning of 
the scene now going on (ii, 1, 22 If.) : 



Sc. I] NOTES 113 

'* That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 
Whereto the climber upward turns his face ; 
But when he once attains the upmost round. 

Looks in the clouds,'" etc. 

123. What need we any spur : Why need we ? 

135. That have spoke : See on line 50, above. 

126. Palter: quibble, equivocate. 

129. Gautelous : wary, suspicious, crafty, deceitful. See Introduc- 
tion, §35, and compare Coriolanus (iv, 1, 33): "With cautelous hdiiis 
and practices "; and Hamlet (i, 3, 15): *' And now no soil nor cautel 
doth besmirch the virtue of his will." 

130-2 : Old, feeble carrions . . . that ; such creatures . . . 
as : The close juxtaposition of these two forms of the correlative con- 
struction shows the laxness of usage in Shakspere's day. 

133. The even virtue : the equable or lofty virtue. 

134. Insuppressive : not to be suppressed. Shakspere is rich in 
examples of the adjective termination -ive, where modern usage has 
'ihle, -ent, or -ed, A famous instance occurs in As You Like It (iii, 
2, 10) : " The fair, the chaste, the unexpressive she." Troilus arid 
Cressida has numerous beautiful examples of this habit, of which the 
follo\ving (i, 3, 19-21) is as good as any : 

" Naught else 
But the protractive trials of great Jove 
To fiudi persistive constancy in men." 

138. Several: separate, individual. 

144-5. Silver hairs. Will purchase : One dislikes to find here the 
pun that certain editors point out. 

148. No whit : nothing ; not at all — Anglo-Saxon hivit, a thing, a 
particle, bit. 

150. Break with him : break our plot to' him. 

151. He ivill never foUoiVy etc. : This description of Cicero aptly fits 
the man who lost all in trying to keep the mastery of Rome that 
Caesar wrested from him. The history of the last days of the republic 
might have been very different could Cicero have joined his great 
powers to those of Caesar. After the death of C^sar, Cicero allied 
himself with the conspirators, lauded their action, and expressed 
regret that he had not been of their number. 

8 



114 NOTES [Act H 

157. We shall find of Mm : We shall find in him. See Introduc- 
tion, § 30. 

163. Our course will seem too bloody: This underestimating of 
Antony and allowing him to live was Brutus' first mistake in policy. 
His next fatal mistakes were (1) the permitting Antony to speak " in 
Caesar's funeral " and (2) his plan of battle at Philippi. In all three 
cases his judgment over-ruled the sounder, more practical advice of 
Cassius. 

164. Bnvy : malice. 

166. Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Caius : Scan this line 
and the next one. 

177-8. This shall make Our purpose necessary : Supply seem or 
appear before necessary, and notice appearing in the next line. 

180. We shall be calVd purgers, not murderers : Scan this line and 
compare line 166, above. 

184. Ingrafted love : that is, love deeply grafted in his nature. 

192. The clock hath stricken three : What should you say of this 
anachronism ? For stricken, see Introduction, § 17. 

194. Whether Ccesar will come forth today, or no : How is the first 
word of the verse to be pronounced ? 

195. For he is superstitious grown of late : Plutarch notes this 
change that took place in Caesar's character the year before his death. 
The more natural bent of his character is shown in his speech (ii, 
2, 32 ff.) beginning, " Cowards die many times before their death." 

204. That unicorns may be betray' d ivith trees : " Unicorns," 
Steevens comments, "are said to have been taken by one who, run- 
ning behind a tree, eluded the violent push the animal was making 
at him, so that his horn spent its force on the trunk and stuck fast, 
detaining the beast till he was despatched by the hunter. " 

205. And bears with glasses, elephants with holes: " Bears," says 
Steevens, " are reported to have been surprised by means of a mirror, 
which they would gaze on, affording their pursuers an opportunity of 
taking a surer aim. Elephants were seduced into pitfalls lightly 
covered with hurdles and turf, on which a proper bait to tempt them 
was exposed. See Pliny's Natural History, Book viii." 

206. Toils : nets or snares. 

207. But tvhen I tell him, etc. : Decimus Brutus was one of the men 
Caesar most loved and trusted. He had been with Caesar through 
many campaigns and was named as second heir in Caesar's will. His 
treachery seems blacker than that of almost any other of the con- 
spirators. 



Sc. I] NOTES 115 

213. Uttermost : now less common than utmost. Compare iipmost 
(ii, 1, 24). 

315. Doth dear GcBsar hard : See note on i, 2, 311. 

220. Fashion him : mould him or win him to our cause. 

224. Fresh and merrily : Are these conjoined words of the same 
part of speech ? 

226. Bear it : bear what ? 

229. Fast asleep : This habitual sleepiness of Lucius, and Brutus* 
kindly reflections thereon, form one of the most natural and beautiful 
notes of the entire play. Compare the similar scene in iy, 3, 254 ff. 
The contrast between Brutus' excited state of mind and the boy's 
care-free condition is charmingly portrayed. 

231. No figures : no cares or concerns. 

231. Nor no fantasies : Shakspere has been known even to triple 
negatives. See Twelfth Night {lii, 1, 156-7), '' Nor never none Shall 
mistress be of it." 

233. Brutus, my lord: This famous scene has been compared to the 
equally famous scene between Hotspur and his wife in the first part 
of King Henry IV (ii, 3). But the scenes are similar mainly in the fact 
that in each a wife tries to learn from her husband a secret of great 
political import. The light-hearted Lady Percy is as different from the 
noble Portia as Hotspur's contemptuous treatment of her is different 
from Brutus' loving and respectful treatment of his wife. 

237-8. Yoii've . . . stole: Compare " Where 1 have took them 
up"(ii, 1, 50). 

240. Your m^ms across: that is, folded. 

246. Wafture: wave. The Folio has "wafter." 

250-1. Humour, Wliich sometime hath his hour: Comment on his 
in this line. 

255. Dear my lord : This position of the adjective and the posses- 
sive pronoun is common in earnest address in Shakspere. 

261. Is Brutus sick: Rolfe quotes from Richard Grant White: 
"For sick, the correct English adjective to express all degrees of 
suffering from disease, and which is universally used in the Bible and 
by Shakspere, the Englishman of Great Britain has poorly substi- 
tuted the adverb *7Z." 

261. Physical: wholesome or healthful. Compare Coriolanus (i, 5, 
18-9): " The blood I drop is va.t\\ev physical Tiian dangerous to me." 

263. Dank: Does this .word give a better picture than would damp 
or moist 9 Note the high poetical quality of many of these lines of 
Portia's. 



116 NOTES [Act II 

366. Rheumy : that causes colds or rheum. 

271. I dharm: I appeal by charms, as an enchanter or magician. 

275. Heavy at heart. 

283. In sort or limitation: in a limited sense or manner. 

289-90. The ruddy drops That visit my sad heart: Shakspere knew 
of the general fact of the circulation of the blood, though Harvey's 
scientific discovery of the modus operandi of it was not published till 
1628 — twelve years after Shakspere's death. 

295. A woman well-reputed, Cato's daughter: Marcus Cato, "the 
last of the Romans," was always opposed to Caesar. He was a narrow- 
minded man, bent pn an impossible task — the bringing back of the 
republic to a government already imperial except in name. Cato was 
the great conservative check to progress. He killed himself after 
Caesar's victory over the followers of Pompey. 

297. So fathered and so husbanded : Compare on scandal (i, 2, 76). 

300. Giving myself a voluntary wound : Compare North's Plu- 
tarch, Life of Brutus (ed. Skeat, pp. 115-6) : " His wife Porcia (as 
we have told you before) was the daughter of Cato, whom Brutus 
married being his cousin, not a maiden, but a young widow after 
the death of her first husband Bibulus. . . . This young lady 
being excellently well seen in philosophy, loving her husband well, 
and being of a noble courage, as she was also wise : because she 
would not ask her husband what he ailed, before she had made 
some proof by herself: she took a little razor, such as barbers 
occupy to pare men's nails, and causing her maids and women to go 
out of her chamber gave herself a great gash withal in her thigh, 
that she was straight all of a gore blood : and incontinently after, a 
vehement fever took her, by reason of the pain of her wound. Then 
perceiving her husband was marvellously out of quiet, and that he 
could take no rest, even in her greatest pain of all, she spake in this 
sort unto him : ' I being, Brutus (said she) the daughter of Cato, was 
married unto thee : not to be thy bedfellow, and companion in bed 
and at board only, like a harlot, but to be partaker also with thee of 
thygood and evil fortune. Xow for thyself, I can find no cause of 
fault in thee touching our match : but for my part, how may I show 
my duty towards thee, and how much 1 would do for thy sake, if I 
cannot constantly bear a secret mischance or grief, with thee, which 
requireth secrecy and fidelity? I confess, that a woman's wit com- 
monly is too weak to keep a secret safely : but yet, Brutus, good 
education, and the company of virtuous men, have some power to 
reform the defect of nature. And for myself, I have this benefit 



Sc. II] NOTES 117 

moreover, that I am the daughter of Cato, and wife of Brutus. This 
notwithstanding, I did not trust to any of these things before, until 
that now I have found by experience, that no pain or grief whatsoever 
can overcome me.' With those words she showed him her wound 
on her thigh, and told him what she had done to prove herself. 
Brutus was amazed to hear what she said unto him, and lifting up 
his hands to heaven, he besought the goddesses to give him the grace 
he might bring his enterprise to so good pass, that he might be found 
a husband, worthy of so noble a wife as Porcia: so he then did com- 
fort her the best he could." 

For the " well - reputed " Portia, compare The Merchant of Venice 
(i, 1, 165) : 

"Her name is Portia ; nothing undervalued 
To Cato's daughter, Brutus' Portia." 

308. Charactery : writing by characters ? See Introduction, § 35. 
311. Spake: See Introduction, § 16. There is always an effect of 
dignity about this form of the preterite. 
813. Vouchsafe : (here) deign to accept. 

314. Chose : Compare stole (ii, 1, 238). 

315. To ivear a kercJiief : Evidently a habit of the sick in Shak- 
spere's day. The editors reproduce Malone's quotation from Ful- 
ler's Worthies of Cheshire (p. 180) : "if any there be sick, they 
make him a posset, and tye a kerchief on his head." 

332. Brave son, derived from honourable loins : See note on ii, 
1, 53. 

323. Exorcist : Shakspere uses the word for one who raises spirits, 
rather than for one who drives them out. 

324. Mortified: dead. CompsiTe Henry V (i, 1, 26) : "His wild- 
ness, mortified in him, Seem'd to die too." 

330-1. As we are going To whom it must be done : On the construc- 
tion, compare Introduction, §9. 

Scene II 

The Folio reads, Thunder and Lightning. Enter Julius Gcesar in 
his Night-gowne [i.e., dressing-gown]. This scene represents the 
next important stage in the conspiracy— the inducing of Caesar to 
attend the meeting of the Senate, at which his life is to be sacrificed. 
Note how easily the poet found the material for the scene in his 
North's Plutarch, Life of Julius Ccesar (ed. Skeat, pp. 98-9). 



118 NOTES [Act II 

The contrast between Calpurnia, the yielding wife, and Portia, 
the brave, heroic woman, should be noted. These two matrons, in 
their strongly contrasted characters, prove that " Shakspere never 
repeats himself." 

1. Nor heaven ?ior earth have been, etc. : Shakspere usually follows 
this nor . . . nor construction, if the nouns be singular, with a 
singular verb. Compare Introduction, § 24. 

6. Their opinions of success : Their opinions of the issue (Craik) ; 
their opinion of what is to follow (Hudson) ; " here and in v, 3, 65, 
denotes good fortune ; but in many cases it is a colourless word, 
signifying merely 'issue,' 'result,' which has to be qualified by some 
adjective, as good or ill." — Wright. 

8. What mean you, Gcesarf think you to walk forth : Compart, 
Brutus' "Portia, what mean you ? wherefore rise you now?" (ii, 
1, 234). 

10. Ccesar shall forth : Comment on the absence of a verb of mo- 
tion. See Introduction, § 22. 

13. Ceremo7iies : religious omens or prophecies. Compare ii, 1, 197. 

16. Most horrid sights seen by the watch : In addition to the prodi- 
gies Calpurnia tells of, recall the incidents related in the third 
scene of the first act. 

18. And graves have yawn'd and yielded up their dead : Compare 
Hamlet {{, 1, 115-6): 

" The graves stood tenantless, and the sheeted dead 
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets." 

22. Hurtled : clashed. 

24. And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets : Compare 
the line from Hamlet above, " Did squeak and gibber in the Eoraan 
streets." 

25. Beyond all use : beyond all we are accustomed to. 

26. What can be avoided, etc. : This speech and the next one of 
Caesar's are more in keeping with his character as we find it in his- 
tory — particularly during his early life. Compare the note on ii, 1, 
195. 

42. Ccesar should be a beast, etc. : What is the force of should in 
both members of this conditional sentence ? 

57. Here's Decius Brutus : Decimus Brutus, by reason of Caesar's 
trust in him (see note on ii, 1, 207), was well chosen to bend Caesar 
to the purpose of the conspirators. 

67. Afeard .• still heard in vulgar parlance. This word illustrates 



Sc. II] NOTES 119 

the descent expressions often make from literary to inelegant use. 
Compare, in line 101, below, " Lo, Cgesar is afraid." 

74. Because Hove you : Compare what has been said above on the 
relations between Caesar and Decimus Brutus. 

75. Stays me at home : See Introduction, § 40. 

76. Statue: A trisyllable. To mark the trisyllable, Dyee and 
others printed statua, which, although it is found in Bacon, does not 
occur in early editions of Shakspere. 

89. For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance : The average 
reader can see very well what this line means, but if he desires to 
learn how much commentators can do to puzzle themselves, let him 
refer to Craik : " Tinctures and stains are understood both by Malcne 
and Steevens as carrying an allusion to the practice of persons dip- 
ping their handkerchiefs in the blood of those whom they regarded as 
martyrs. And it must be confessed that the general strain of the 
passage, and more especially the expression ' shall press for tinc- 
tures,' etc., will not easily allow us to reject this interpretation. Yet 
does it not make the speaker assign to Caesar by implication the very 
kind of death Calphurnia's apprehension of which he professes to 
regard as visionary ? 

"Johnson takes both tinctures diX\^ cognizance in the heraldic sense 
as meaning distinctive marks of honour and armorial bearings (in 
part denoted by colours). But the stains and relics are not to be so 
easily accounted for on this supposition ; neither would it be very 
natural to say that men should press to secure such distinctions. 
The speech altogether, Johnson characterises as * intentionally 
pompous' and * somewhat confused.' " 

97. Apt to le rendered: Apt. to be returned or answered (at any 
time). 

104. Reason to my love is liable : Reason is subject to, or controlled 
by, my love. 

105. How foolish do your fears seem, etc. : Caesar's vacillation is 
equalled only by his illogical reasoning. 

108. PuUius : not one of the conspirators ; referred to (probably) 
in iii, 1, 87, as "quite confounded with this mutiny." 

109. Welcome, PuUius : Note the charming ease and cordiality of 
Caesar's greetings throughout this scene. He seems for a moment to 
become his old self. 

110. Are you stirr'd : A more modern use would require, " Are you 
astir," or "stirring." 

111. Caius Idgarius : For his relations to Caesar, compare ii, 1, 215 



120 NOTES [Act II 

114. ^Tis strucken eight : Compare " stricJcen three" (ii, 1, 192). 

116. 0' nights: The Folio reads " a-nights.^' See on i, 2, 193. 

118. So to most nolle Antony : What is this so f 

121. Hour's : here a dissyllable. 

126. Taste some wine with me: "It is acknowledged, even by his 
enemies, that in regard to wine Caesar was abstemious. A remark is 
ascribed to Marcus Cato that ' Caesar was the only sober man amongst 
all those who were engaged in the design to subvert the government.' " 
—Suetonius, Julius Ccesar^ liii. Of course, Froude makes much of 
this commendation. 

Scene III 

The Folio simply reads Enter Artemidorus, without any indica- 
tion of a new scene. 

6-8. Look about you . . . The . . . gods defend thee : Ac- 
count, if possible, for the change of number in the pronoun. 

8. Thy lover : For this use of lover, see on iii, 2, 13. 

12. Emulation : jealous or factious rivalry. Compare Troilus and 
Cressida (i, 3, 133): *' An envious fever Of pale and bloodless emula- 
tion." 

14. Contrive : plot, conspire. 

Scene IV 

The Folio, of course, merely reads Enter Portia and Lucius. This 
scene is one of the most charming in the play, though it perhaps does 
little to develop the main stream of action. The wifely fears and 
imaginings, and the rambling talk .of Portia — whom Brutus seems, 
somehow, to have told of the "action toward" — are well contrasted 
with the matter-of-fact replies of our little friend Lucius ; replies 
which show a straightforwardness of expression somewhat at variance 
with the method of the boy's speeches earlier in the acto 

6. Constancy : It will be remembered that Brutus advises (ii, 1, 227) 
the conspirators to *'bear it . . . with untir'd spirits and for- 
mal constancy.^' 

14. Eor he went sichly forth : a hint of Elizabethan grandilo- 
quence. 

18. Rumour : as frequently, in its Latin sense, of bruit or noise. 

20. Sooth : a frequent use in Shakspere. The Anglo-Saxon adjec- 
tive soS, true, seems later to have been used as a noun, meaning 
truth. The word is here used adverbially ; sometimes we find the 



Sc. IV] NOTES 121 

expressions *'m sooth" or "in good sooth." Compare the noun 

SOOth-Q&JQV. 

27. Thou hast some suit to Ccesar : Compare in Much Ado about 
Nothing (ii, 1, 210) : " The Lady Beatrice hath a quarrel to you." 

37. A place more void : a place more open (as opposed to the idea 
in " Here the street is narrow"); or a place less crowded (compare 
*' The throng that follows him at heels "). 

42. Brutus hath a suit, etc. : evidently an explanation of her con- 
duct, addressed to the boy. 



QUESTIONS 

1. What sort of garden do you imagine Shakspere conceived this 
of Brutus' to have been — English or Roman ? 2. Can you picture 
it as Roman, from your knowledge of ancient Rome ? 3. Do you 
notice anything at variance with your idea of the character of Bru- 
tus in the soliloquy at the beginning of the act ? 4. What is Bru- 
tus' attitude toward the boy Lucius? 5. What suggestion as to the 
natural feelings of Brutus do you receive from his treatment of 
this servant ? 6. What expectation do you have, up to the time of 
the entrance of Cassius and the other conspirators, of Brutus' ultimate 
decision concerning the conspiracy ? Why ? 7. What simple, natural 
touches do you find in the talk immediately after " the faction" enter? 
8. Do these touches heighten the dramatic effect of the scene ? 9. Can 
you justify the high moral stand of Brutus as regards the question of 
killing Antony ? 10. Why do you suppose the other conspirators yield 
so readily to his opinions ? 11. Can you find grounds in his speech 
and action for the esteem in which they hold him ? 12. Does the 
entire scene of the midnight meeting seem to you dramatic and inter- 
esting ? Why ? 13. Does the scene between Brutus and Portia, the 
only important scene for a woman in the play, make you feel that a 
greater feminine interest would increase your liking for the story, 
or does the story absolutely satisfy you as Shakspere has written it ? 
Why ? 14. Does Portia give to you any notion of what the noble 
Roman lady may have been ? 15. What heroic elements can you find 
in her character ? 16. How does the scene between Brutus and Portia 
impress you ? Why ? 

17. Does the second scene of the play, up to the entrance of 
Decius Brutus, give you anything you had not learned from the third 
scene of the first act ? 18. What new ideas do you get of the char- 



122 NOTES [Act III 

acter of Ceesar ? 19. Does he seem to you to be the Caesar you -had 
imagined from what you have read of him elsewhere ? 20. Can you 
give the reason for his vacillation ? 21. Is Calpurnia a stronger or 
a weaker woman than Portia? 22. Which seems to you the more 
lovable of the two matrons ? 23. Does the conduct of Decius 
Brutus in this scene appear in any way praiseworthy or heroic ? 
24. Do you get any new impression of Antony, from his appearance 
here ? 25. Are your sympathies against Caesar or with him here, just 
before his death ? 26. Which do you suppose Shakspere meant his 
audience to do, sympathise with Brutus, or with Caesar ? 27. If you 
are of the party of Brutus, what do you think of his conduct at this 
point ? 28. Can you suggest a nobler course for him to have followed? 
29. What new notion of Portia does the fourth scene give you? 
30. Do you like the contrast between her highly wrought, nervous 
condition and the unconsciousness of Lucius ? 31. What do you 
suppose Shakespere meant by this scene ? 

ACT III 

Note on the Structure of the Act. — Caesar is prepared for the 
sacrifice, and Brutus strikes one of the cowardly blows against "the 
foremost man of all the world." In this latter fact lies the dramatic 
kernel of the story. No one who saw the expression of horror, remorse, 
and pity with which the late Edwin Booth, as Brutus, drew back after 
stabbing Caesar, can fail to remember the scene as the climax of the 
play. Here' Brutus, the hero of the tragedy, commits his one irrevo- 
cable act. He has passed through the supreme crisis, and, from that 
time on, the old, quiet life is closed to him forever. For such a man 
there could be no happiness after such a deed ; yet, perhaps, if he 
could persuade the mob, and bring back Rome to its ancient ways — ? 
And here Brutus makes his second great mistake — again in opposition 
to the more astute Cassius — and allows Antony to speak "in Caesar*s 
funeral." From the moment Antony turns the mob, the murder of 
Caesar is seen to have been in vain ; henceforth it is the same old con- 
flict between the spirit of Caesar — or new ideas — and the conser- 
vative power, as typified in Brutus. From this point of view, perhaps 
the climax of the play is at Antony's speech ; those, however, who 
regard the blow of Brutus as the great flood-tide of the action, see in 
this scene of Antony's oration " the moment of dramatic reverse," in 
which Brutus' fortunes finally and definitely change for the worse. 
And what is the episode of the murder of Cinna by the mob that An- 



Sc. I] NOTES 123 

tony has incited, but a sort of Q. E. D., whicli Shakspere adjoins as 
proof of Antony's foresight in prophesying that 

'' Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge, 

With Ate by his side, come hot from hell, 
Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice, 
Cry ' Havoc ! ' and let slip the dogs of war ! " 

The passing, too, at this stage, of the mob, should be noted. It has 
done its work, and insurrection now becomes war. 

Scene I 

The stage direction as it is printed in the text is substantially 
Capell's. The Folio reads, Flourish. Enter Coesar, Brutus, Cassiu&, 
CasJca, Deciufi, Metellus, Treho7iius, Cynna, Antony, Lepidus, Arti- 
medorus, PuUius, and the Soothsayer. There is no indication in the 
Folio of the change from the street to the Senate-house, but Steevens 
adopted substantially the direction in our text after the words, 
" What, urge you your petition in the street ? Come to the Capitol." 
See the description of the stage of the Elizabethan theatre in the 
Introduction, p. xv. The main action in the Senate-house probably 
took place on the inner stage. The murder of Caesar did not occur in 
the Capitol, as is here represented, but in a hall or curia adjoining 
Pompey's theatre. 

1. The Ides of March are come : It will be remembered that this 
soothsayer had warned Caesar (i, 2, 18) to "beware the ides of 
March." See North's Plutarch, The Life of Julius Cmsar (ed. Skeat, 
p. 98) : "That day being come, Caesar going unto the Senate-house, 
and speaking merrily unto the soothsayer, told him, 'the Ides of 
March be come ' : ' so they be,' softly answered the soothsayer, ' but 
yet are they not past.' " 

1. Are come : Is this construction common to-day ? 

3. Bead this schedule : Another hint from Plutarch, TUie Life of 
Julius Cmsar (ed. Skeat, p. 99) : " And one Arteraidorus also . . . 
a doctor of rhetoric in the Greek tongue, who . . . was very 
familiar with certain of Brutus' confederates, and therefore knew the 
most part of all their practices against C^sar, came and brought him 
a little bill, written with his own hand, of all that he meant to tell 
him," etc. 

4. O'er-read : an unusual transposition. 



V?A NOTES [Act III 

7. That touches Ccesar nearer : For the construction, see Introduc- 
tion, § 13. 

8. Us ourself : Note how Shakspere makes Caesar assume the 
language of royalty as Shakspere himself knew it. 

12. Capell's stage direction is, " Artemidorus is push'd back. 
Caesar and the rest enter the Senate : The Senate rises. Popilius 
presses forward to speak to Caesar ; and passing Cassius, says, " etc. 

13. I wish your enterprise . . . may thrive : This construction is 
more rare to-day in the present than in the past tense. Compare in 
line 16, " He wished to-day our enterprise might thrive." This episode 
of Popilius Lena is described in Plutarch. 

18. MaJces to Ccesar : advances to Caesar. 

21. Cassius or Ccesar never shall turn hack : The meaning is that 
" one or the other of us shall never return ; for if Caesar is not killed, 
I will slay myself." 

26. Re draivs Mark Antony out of the way : as in North's Plu- 
tarch, The Life of Marcus Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 118). 

28. Presently : immediately. 

29. He is addressed : he is ready, prepared. 

30. You are the first that rears your hand : See Introduction, 
'§ 23. Consistency would require either ' ' that rear your hand " or 
"that rears his hand." Compare Love's Labour' s Lost {y , 2, 66) : " To 
make me proud that jests" ; and Titus Andronicus (iv, 2, 176) : " For 
it is you that puts us to our shifts." 

33. Most high, most mighty, and most puissant Ccesar : Scan this 
line for the pronunciation of puissant, generally a dissyllable in Shak- 
spere. The rest of this scene is thus described in North's Plutarch, 
The Life of Marcus Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 118): " When Csesar was 
come into the house, all the Senate rose to honour him at his coming 
in. So, when he was set, the conspirators flocked about him, and 
amongst them they presented one Metellus Cimber, who made humble 
suit for the calling home again of his brother that was banished. 
They all made as though they were intercessors for him, and took 
Caesar by the hands, and kissed his head and breast. Caesar at first 
simply refused their kindness and entreaties; but afterwards, per- 
ceiving they still pressed on him, he violently thrust them from him. 
Then Cimber with both his hands plucked Caesar's gown over his 
shoulders, and Casca, that stood behind him, drew his dagger first 
and struck Caesar upon the shoulder, but gave him no great wound. 
'Cfesar, feeling himself hurt, took him straight by the hand he held 
3iis dagger in, and cried out in Latin : ' traitor Casca, what doest 



Sc. I] NOTES 125 

thou ? ' Casca on the other side cried in Greek, and called his 
brother to help him. So divers running on a heap together to fly 
upon Cffisar, he, looking about him to have fled, saw Brutus with a 
sword drawn in his hand ready to strike at him : then he let Casca's- 
hand go, and, casting his gown over his face, suffered every man ta 
strike at him that would. Then the conspirators thronging one upon 
another, because every man was desirous to have a cut at him, so 
many swords and daggers lighting upon one body, one of them hurt 
another, and among them Brutus caught a blow on his hand, because 
he would make one in murdering of him, and all the rest also were 
every man of them bloodied." 

35. / must preve7it thee, etc. : As to the grandiloquent speech of 
Caesar in this scene, see Introduction, p. xxvi. 

39. The law of children: Johnson's conjecture for the Folio "' the 
lane of children." 

39-40. Be not fond To thinlc : For the omission of the conjunc- 
tions, see Introduction, § 33, and cf. The Tempest (iv, 1, 119-20): May 
I be bold To think these spirits?" Fond: foolish, as in Coriolanus 
(iv, 1, 26): " ^Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes." 

40-1. Siich rebel blood Thai, etc. : Comment on the relative pronoun. 

42. With that which melteth fools : The with is again used for by,. 
as in " We are govern'd with our mothers' spirits (i, 3, 83). 

43. Low-crooTced court' sies : In the Folio "Low-crooked-curtsies,' 
See, for the adjective. Introduction, § 37. 

47-8. Know, Gcesar doth not ivrong : "These lines," says Wright,. 
*' are printed as they stand in the folio editions, and it is to them that 
Ben Jonson refers in his Sylva or Discoveries ; where he says of Shake- 
speare, ' Many times he fell into those things could not escape laugh- 
ter: as when he said in the person of Caesar, one speaking to him, 
"Caesar thou dost me wrong," he replied, "Caesar did never wrong, but 
with just cause,*' and such like; which were ridiculous.' Again, in 
the Induction to The Staple of News, he puts the following into 
the mouth of the Prologue : ' Cry you mercy, you never did wrong, 
but with just cause.' On this Gifford remarks that the passage as it 
stands in the folios can never have come from the pen of Shakespeare, 
and that ' the poetry is as mean as the sense.' Tyrwhitt proposed to 
restore the lines thus : 

' Met. Caesar, thou dost me wrong. 
Gees. Know, Caesar doth not wrong, but with just cause. 
Nor without cause will he be satisfied.' 



126 NOTES [Act III 

If it had not been for Ben Jonson's story, no one would have sus- 
pected any corruption in the passage. The question is whether his 
authority is sutiicient to warrant a change." 

Hudson uses the lines found in. Jonson with this note : "I here 
restore a genuine piece of the Poet's text as preserved and authen- 
ticated to us by Ben Jonson." 

51. Repealing: recalling, as frequently in Shakspere. 

53. Desiring thee that : an unusual construction. 

61. True-fix' d: See Introduction, § 37. The Folio reads "true 
fixt." 

61. Resting: steadfast. 

62. i^e/Zozt'.' equal, peer. 

70. Unshak'd of motion: The construing of these words to mean 
''unshaken in his motion" would seem, as has been pointed out, in- 
consistent with Cesar's comparison of himself to the pole-star. The 
expression means, probably, immovable. 

75. Bootless: profitless, without avail. We might expect the adverb 
here. See Introduction, § 13. 

76. The stage direction in the Folio is simply. They stah Ccesar. 

77. Et tu, Brute: There is no classical authority for putting these 
words in Caesar's mouth. According to Suetonius (Ixxxii), "he was 
stabbed with three and twenty wounds, uttering a groan only, but no 
cry, at the first wound, although some authors relate, that when 
Marcus Brutus rushed upon him, he exclaimed, koI aif riKvov, 'and 
thou, my son ? ' " It has been conjectured that Shakspere took the 
JSt tu Brute from The True- Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke, 
printed in 1595, where Edward exclaims to Clarence, "Et tu. Brute, 
wilt thou stab Caesar too ? " 

80. The common pulpits, or rostra, in the Forum, from which 
speeches were made to the people. 

86. Puhlius : See note on ii, 2, 108. This may be the Publius men- 
tioned in the earlier scene, but hardly the one mentioned in iv, 1, 4, 
the ages of the two apparently disagreeing too much to warrant such 
an inference. 

93. Lest that : For the double conjunction, see Introduction, § 34. 

95. Abide : await the consequences of. 

96. But we : Account for the form of the pronoun. 

99. As it were : as if it were. See Introduction, § 33, and ef . v, 1, 
86 : "As we were sickly prey." Is the idea of doomsday a pagan 
one ? 

103. The Folio gives this speech to Casca, but some editors have 



Sc. I] NOTES 1;27 

followed Pope in transferring it to Cassius, as more appropriate to his 
character. Yet, as Hudson remarks, "the sentiment is in strict keep- 
ing with what Casca says in i, 3, 101 : ' So every bondman in his own 
hand bears/ etc." 

104. Grant that, and then is death a benefit : This speech, and in 
fact the rest of the scene until the entrance of Antony's servant, seems 
forced, theatrical, and self-conscious on the part of Brutus and Cas- 
sius. It is hard to think of them as thus seriously moralising after so 
great a crisis, spiritual and political, as their killing of Caesar. 

106-7. Stoop, Romans, stoop, and let us lathe, etc. : Cf . Calpurnia's 
dream (ii, 2, 76, ff). 

116. On Pompey^s hasis lies along : Lies stretched out at the base ©f 
Pompey's statue. For "lies along," in the sense of "stretched out," 
cf. Coriolanus (v, 6, 57) : 

" When he lies along 
After your way his tale pronounc'd shall bury 
His reasons with his body." 

120. Shall ive forth : See on " Caesar shall forth " (ii, 2, 10). 

122. Most boldest: See on " most unkindest," iii, 2, 183. 

132. Resolved : informed. 

137. Thorough : As often in Shakspere, this preposition becomes a 
dissyllable. See Introduction, § 35. 

137. Untrod state : untried state of affairs. 

141. So please him come : According to Abbott, A ShaTcsperian 
Grammar (§ 133), this so is used in the sense of provided that. The 
please, of course, is impersonal. Shakspere uses also the personal 
construction with please, as in The Winter's Tale (ii, 3, 142): "If 
they please." On the omission of the sign to of the infinitive come, 
see Introduction, § 18, and note on "You ought not walk" (i, 1, 3). 

144. To friend : This quaint old idiom survives only in "to take 
or have to wife." 

146-7. My misgiving still Falls shrewdly to the purpose : My mis- 
giving always turns out to be near the mark ; things happen as I 
expect they will. Still, as frequently in Shakspere, means ahvays. 

153. Who else must be let blood : a curious, but not unidiomatic 
expression for "who else must bleed " or " be killed." 

153. Ranh : too full of blood or life. Cf. As You LiTce It {\, 1, 78) : 
"I will physic your rankness," and, for a different use of the figure, 
Troilus and Cressida (i, 3, 316-8) : 



.138 NOTES [Act ITI 

"The seeded pride 
That hath to this maturity blown up 
In rank Achilles, must or now be cropped," etc, 

156. Of half that worth as those : Comment on this construction. 
158. I do beseech ye, if you .- For the form of the pronouns, see 
Introduction, § 1. 

158. Bear me hard: For this expression, see on *'Caius Ligarius 
doth bear Caesar Jiard^' (ii, 1, 215). 

159. Whilst : See note on whiles (i, 2, 209). 

160. Live a thousand years : Comment on the form of this condi. 
tional clause. 

161. Apt to die : fit or ready to die. 

162-3. No place will please me so, no mean of death. As here by 
CcBsar, and by you cut off : that is, by Cmsar is the place and you 
the mean. Mean and means are used indifferently by Shakspere. 

165. Antony, beg not your death of us : This speech of Brutus, 
though not free from his usual rhetorical balancing, is nevertheless 
one of the nobly pathetic passages of the play. 

171. And pity to the general wro7ig of Borne: Cf. (ii, 1, 11-2): 
" I know no personal cause to spurn at him, But for the general.'^ 

172. As fire drives out fire : Cf. Coriolanus (iv, 7, 54): "One fire 
drives out one fire ; one nail, one nail." 

173 Rath done this deed on Cmsar : Is this use of on a vulgarism 
to-day ? 

175-6. Our arms in strength of malice, and our hearts Of brothers* 
temper : The passage stands thus in the Folio, and may be corrupt. 
Wright explains the first part : "Strong as if nerved by malice 
against you, the death grip of enemies being stronger than the most 
loving embrace." Steevens considers "in strength of malice" to 
mean " strong in the deed of malice they have just performed," and 
White practically follows him. Pope reads "exempt from malice," 
and Capell alters thus : 

" To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony, 
Our arms no strength of malice ; and our hearts," etc. 

Others read " in strength of welcome " and "in strength of amity." 

178. Your voice shall be as strong, etc. : Hudson calls this speech 
" snugly characteristic." Cassius backs up Brutus' moonshine about 
"hearts and love" with a promise to Antony of high dignity and 
power. 



Sc. Ij jVGTUS 129 

184, I doubt not of your ivisdom : Modern usage has split this 
idiom into " I have no doubt of your wisdom " and " I do not doubt 
your wisdom, " Is there a different shade of meaning in these ex- 
pressions ? 

185. Let each man render- me his bloody hand : This treachery of 
Antony in seeming to compound with his enemies is paralleled by the 
treachery of John Duke of Lancaster in 2 Henry /F(iv, 2), 

193, Conceit : See Introduction, § 41, and cf. i, 3, 163. 

197. Grieve thee dearer : See Introduction, § 13. 

200. Corse : a poetical form, somewhat over- worn to-day. 

203. Close : agree, close a compact. We still say " close an agree- 
ment." 

205. Bay^d : brought to bay. The figure (as Antony's quibble 
shows) is that of a deer closed about with barking, yelping hounds. 
Cf. (iv, 1, 48-9) : " For we are at the stake, And bay'd about with 
many enemies." 

207. Thy lethe: thy death, a reading adopted by Pope and others 
from the Folio "Lethee." The meaning is clear enough, whether 
we conceive Shakspere to have meant "thy oblivion" or to have 
compared Caesar's flowing blood to the river Lethe. 

208-9. This hart . - . the heart of thee : The Folio reads hart 
in both cases. The taste of the quibble in such a connection is more 
than questionable. Cf, As You Like It (iii, 2, 230) : 

" Celia : He was furnish'd like a hunter. 
Rosalind : 0, ominous \ He comes to kill my heart." 

210. Strucken : The Folio reads strohen. Cf. strucken, ii, 2, 114, . 
214. Cold modesty a cold and modest statement.' Modesty is 
practically equivalent to moderation. 

216. But 'what compact mean you to have with us : Scan, for the 
probable Shaksperian pronunciation of cornpact. 

217. Prick' d: marked. See iv, 1, 1. 

218. Shall ive on : Comment on the omission of the verb of motion. 

219. Therefore : to that purpose. 

222. Tliat you shall give : We should now rather expect to find 
" that you will give," etc. 

231. In the order of his funeral : in the course of the funeral cere- 
monies. Funeral orations were spoken from the rostra in the Forum. 
Cf. on iii, 1, 80. 

233. You knoiv not what you do : This was another of Brutus' po« 
9 



130 NOTES [Act III 

litical mistakes. As usual, Cassius' advice was the better. Cf. on 
ii, 1, 162. 

284. In his ftmeral : This preposition seems odd to-day in such a 
connection. 

237. I will myself into : See above, line 218. 

239. What Antony shall speak : The most vivid form of the 
hypothesis of a future conditional sentence. We now say, rather, 
"What Antony speaks." 

244. Fall: happen. See Introduction, §41, and v, 1, 104: "For 
fear of what might fall.'' 

246. You shall not in your funeral speech blame us : At first, in his 
speech, Antony obeys this injunction, at least in the letter. 

258. The tide of times : Tide originally meant time, as in spring- 
tide, BYentide, etc. In Shakspere's day, however, the word had ac- 
quired its modern meaning ; cf. (iv, 3, 216-7): " There is a tide in 
the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood," etc. 

259. Costly : rare, precious. 

260. Over thy wounds now do I prophesy : As this speech is ordi- 
narily rendered in the theatre it falls but little short of the veriest 
rant, especially toward the end. 

261 Their ruby lips : To modern ears, at least, this seems another 
of Antony's insincere figures. 

265. Cumber : more commonly ew-cumber. 

270. Fell : cruel. 

272. Ate : The goddess of mischief and discord. 

274. Cry " Havoc " ; In old times, the signal that no quarter would 
be given. 

. 274. The dogs of war : Steele (Taller, 137) suggests that these are 
** fire, sword, 'and famine. " Cf . Henry V, i, chor. 5 : 

*' Then should the warlike Harry, like himself. 
Assume the port of Mars ; and, at his heels, 
Leash'd in like hounds, should Famine, Sword, and Fire 
Crouch for employment." 

276. Carrion men : Cf. ii, 1, 130: "Old feeble carrions." 

281. Bid : See Introduction, § 16. 

284. Passion : sorrow. Cf. i, 2, 39-40 : " Vexed I am. Of late with 
passio7is of some difference." 

290. No Rome of safety : The same pun, say some editors, that we 
find in i, 2, 156: " Now is it i^ome indeed and room enough." Shak- 



.sc. II] NOTES 131 

spere to-day would hardly put this sort of quibble in the mouths of 
men so earnest as Cassius and Antony were supposed to be. 

295. Issue : deed ; perhaps, point at issue. 

296. The which : For the definite article before the relative, see 
Introduction, § 8. 

298. Exeunt ivith Ccesar's body : Rowe's stage direction. The 
Folio says merely Exeunt. 

Scene II 

The Folio reads, Enter Brutus and goes into the Pulpit, and Cas- 
sius, ivith the Plebeians. The material for this, the great acting scene 
of the play, is found in North's Plutarch, The Life of Brutus (ed. 
Skeat, pp. 120-21) : 

" A great number of men being assembled together, Brutus made an 
oration unto them, to win the favour of the people, and to justify that 
they had done. All those that were by said they had done well, and 
cried unto them that they should boldly come down from the Capitol ; 
whereupon Brutus and his companions came boldly down into the 
market-place. The rest followed in troop, but Brutus went foremost, 
very honourably compassed in round about with the noblest men of the 
city, which brought him from the Capitol through the market-place, 
to the pulpit for orations. When the people saw him in the pulpit, 
although they were a multitude of all sorts, and had a goodwill to 
make some stir ; yet, being ashamed to do it, for the reverence they 
bare unto Brutus, they kept silence to hear what he would say. When 
Brutus began to speak, they gave him quiet audience: howbeit, im- 
mediately after, they shewed him that they were not all contented 
with the murder. For when another, called Cinna, would have spoken, 
and began to accuse Csesar, they fell into a great uproar among them, 
and marvellously reviled him ; insomuch that the conspirators re- 
turned again into the Capitol. " 

Furthermore, 

" They came to talk of Csesar's will and testament, and of his 
funerals and tomb. Then Antonius, thinking good his testament 
should be read openly, and also that his body should be honourably 
buried, and not in hugger-mugger, lest the people might thereby take 
occasion to be worse offended if they did otherwise ; Cassius stoutly 
spoke against it. But Brutus went with the motion, and agreed unto 
it ; wherein it seemeth he committed a second fault. For the first fault 



132 NOTES [Act III 

he did, was when he would not consent to his fellow-conspirators, that 
Antonius should be slain; and therefore he was justly accused, that 
thereby he had saved and strengthened a strong and grievous enemy 
of their conspiracy. The second fault was when he agreed that 
Csesar's funerals should be as Antonius would have them, the which, 
indeed, marred all. For, first of all, when Caesar's testament was 
openly read among them, whereby it appeared that he bequeathed 
unto every citizen of Rome 75 drachmas a man; and that he left his 
gardens and arbours unto the people, which he had on this side of the 
river Tiber, in the place where now the temple of Fortune is built; the 
people then loved him, and were marvellous sorry for him. After- 
wards, when Caesar's body was brought into the market-place, An- 
tonius making his funeral oration in praise of the dead, according to 
the ancient custom of Rome, and perceiving that his words moved the 
common people to compassion, he framed his eloquence to make their 
hearts yearn the more ; and taking Caesar's gown all bloody in his 
hand, he laid it open to the sight of them all, shewing what a number 
of cuts and holes it had upon it. Therewithal the people fell presently 
into such a rage and mutiny, that there was no more order kept 
amongst the common people. For some of them cried out ' Kill the 
murderers'; others plucked up forms, tables, and stalls about the 
market-place, as they had done before at the funerals of Clodius, and 
having laid them all on a heap together, they set them on fire, and 
thereupon did put the body of Caesar, and burnt it in the midst of the 
most holy places. And furthermore, when the fire was thoroughly 
kindled, some here, some there, took burning firebrands and ran with 
them to the murderers' houses that killed him, to set them on fire. 
Howbeit the conspirators, foreseeing the danger before, had wisely 
provided for themselves and fled." 

I. Citizens : The Folio has Pie. At line 8, the direction is 1. Pie. 
After that the citizens are indicated merely by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 
etc. 

7. A7id puhlic reasons shall he rendered : And reasons shall be pub- 
licly rendered ? 

II. Is ascended : Shakspere uses the auxiliary he with many verbs 
that to-day take have, almost invariably. Cf. " My life is run his 
compass" (v, 3, 25). 

13. Lovers : used in Shakspere for friends. So, in line 44, Brutus 
speaks of Caesar as his "best lover"; Menenius in Coriolanus (v, 2, 
14) says to the Volscian sentinel, "Thy general is my lover; and in 



Sr. IIJ NOTES 133 

Troilus and Cressida (iii, 3, 214) Ulysses says to Achilles, "I as your 
lover speak," 

13. Hear me for my cause, etc. : This speech of Brutus is in great 
contrast to that of Antony immediately following. It is rather the 
eifort of a man who wishes to convince an audience of the reasonable- 
ness of his cause than that of a demagogue trying to influence vast 
crowds to his way of thinking. It is cold and studied, where Antony's 
is filled with fiery eloquence of a sort bound to sway the people. 
Brutus was so sure of the justice of his own cause that he fancied the 
Romans needed but to hear his side logically stated to be convinced. 
As to the compendious and balanced style, see note on i, 2, 162. Can 
you give any reason for the. speech's being in prose ? 

16. Censure : judge. 

26. TJiere is tears : See Introduction, § 28, 

28. Who is here so hase that loould he : Do you feel the omission of 
the subject of would he in this and the following sentences of similar 
structure ? 

48. Which of you shall not : Which in this form of question gen- 
erally means " which of tw^o." 

44. My hest lover : See note on line 13, above. 

49, A statue, with his ancestors : Comment on this idea of Brutus' 
ancestry and its dramatic value. 

57. And grace his sjjeech : The reference of this his is decidedly 
confusing. 

61. Save I alone : Comment on the form of the pronoun. 

63. TJie public chair : One of the rostra referred to as "common 
pulpits," in iii, 1, 80. 

65. Beholding : The modern form is heholden. 

68. ' Twere hest he speak no harm of Brutus here : He had better 
speak no harm, etc. — Note the hostility of the audience Antony had 
to face, and observe the clever and cautious way in which he sets to 
work to win it to his side. He comes to "bury Caesar, not to praise 
him"; he will not "do wrong" to Brutus — to whose party this crowd 
happens to think it belongs. But before he has spoken more than three 
or four hundred words the crowd finds ' ' there is much reason in his 
sayings," and " some will dear abide the murder." From that time 
on the mob is Antony's, and he moulds it to his will. This speech is 
one of the great examples of what a skilled orator can do with a hos- 
tile audience ; none the less great because it is, as it stands, Shakspere's 
and not the real Antony's. Wright points out that in this mob the 
fourth citizen was Brutus' great partisan. 



134 NOTES [Act IU 

75. The evil, that men do lives after them : In connection with this, 
reference is frequently made to Henry VIII {iv, 2, 45-6): " Men's evil 
manners live in brass ; their virtues We write in water." 

79. If it were so : Antony here subtly shows the impossibility of 
the contingency by the form in which he clothes it. 

95. On the Lupercal : The Lupercal was not a hill, as Shakspere 
seems to think, but a cave or grotto ; perhaps, however, Shakspere 
means on or at the Luperealia — the feast of Lupercal. Antony, of 
course, is referring to the events described by Casca, in the second 
scene of the first act of our play. 

103. What cause withholds you then to mourn for him : ivith- 
holds — holds back. To mourn is again the gerund used for the 
infinitive. See on to hear, i, 1, 49. 

108. MethinJcs there is much reason in his sayings : Note in these 
speeches of the citizens how great an effect the artful Antony has 
created by his seemingly simple grief. 

114. Dear abide it : See Introduction, § 13. 

115. Bed as fire : This simile is well put in the mouth of the citizen. 
** Cold as ice," *' hot as fire," etc., are the usual heights of similitude 
with " the vulgar." 

120. And none so poor to do Mm reverence : And none so poor as to 
do, etc. The line probably means that even the poorest is now too 
high to reverence Caesar. 

137. TJian I will wrong : an unexpected construction. We should 
have looked for the conclusion *' than (to) wrong," etc. 

133. Napkins : handkerchiefs. Those who have read Othello will 
remember how prominent a part Desdemona's lost " napkin" plays in 
the plot. This scene of Antony's imagination recalls Calpurnia's 
dream (ii, 2, 76 ff .). Compare also the magniloquent words of Brutus 
and Cassius just after the murder (iii, 1, 106 ff.). The idea of bathing 
in the martyred Caesar's blood seems to have strongly impressed 
Shakspere's fancy. 

138. We'll hear the will : Antony has now " got the crowd where 
he wants it." 

141. Meet : fitting. 

150. I have o'ershot myself : I have gone beyond what I intended ; 
the result is beyond what I anticipated. 

153. They were traitors : Antony now has won the fourth citizen 
entirely and absolutely. 

162. He comes down from the pulpit : Rowe's stage direction. 

168. Bear back : fall back : move farther off. 



Sc. IIJ NOTES 135 

170. Tou all do know this mantle : " Of course the matter about the 
* mantle ' is purely fictitious : Caesar had on the civic gown, not the 
military cloak, when killed: and it was, in fact, the mangled toga 
that Antony displayed on this occasion : but the fiction has the effect 
of making the allusion to the victory seem perfectly artless and inci- 
dental." — Hudson. 

173. Thai day he overcame the Nervii : in 57 B.C. This was one 
of Caesar^s bloodiest and his most famous battle. Every schoolboy 
who has gone so far in the study of Latin will remember the account 
of this battle in the second book of the Gallic War. This bringing 
up of Caesar's past glory and his great service to the state is another 
very clever device of Antony's ; perhaps he would not have dared do 
so until he had moulded the people to his will. 

174. In this place ran Cassius' dagger through : Do the two prepo- 
sitions seem unnecessary, or do they give an added colloquial touch 
to Antony's speech ? 

179. As rushing out of doors : "What of the taste of this violent and 
fanciful figure, especially in so serious a scene ? Does not one 
usually doubt the sincerity of a man who can stop in his grief to 
gather " flowers of speech " ? Shakspere makes Antony a perpetual 
sinner in this regard. See on " ruby lips " (iii, 1, 261). 

183. Most unkindest : See iii, 1, 122, and Introduction, § 10. 

188. Statue : See on ii, 2, 76. 

194. Dint : stroke, impression. 

197. Marr'^d . . . with traitors .• See on i, 3, 83. 

211. Flood of mutiny : Note how artfully Antony introduces this 
idea into the minds of his hearers — an idea suggested still more 
forcibly in line 230, below. 

213. Private griefs : private grievances. Another very artful 
suggestion on Antony's part, as Brutus had just told the people 
Caesar had been killed for the good of the people. 

217. I am no orator, as Brutus is : This is the perfection of " mock 
modesty "; the daring of it is superb. 

321. For I have neither wit : The correction of the second Folio. 
The first Folio reads, " For I have neither writ,^^ that is, prepared 
writings. 

230. To rise and mutiny : See on line 211, above. This splendid 
climax of Antony's is followed by the desired result ; with one voice 
the mob takes up the cry, " We'll mutiny.*' 

243. Seventy-five drachmas : The drachma was a Greek coin of 
about the value of the French franc — between eighteen and twenty 



136 NOTES . [Act 111 

cents of American money. Of course the purchasing power was then 
much greater than it would be now. 

250. Orchards : gardens. Cf. on ii, 1, " Brutus' orchard." North's 
Plutarch, The Life of Marcus Brutus (ed, Skeat, p. 121), says (see 
Introduction to Notes on this scene), " He left his gardens and arbours 
unto the people, which he had on this side of the river Tiber, in the 
place where now the temple of Fortune is built." As a matter of 
fact, Caesar's gardens were on the Janiculum, the other side of Tiber 
from where Antony was speaking ; but Shakspere took these things 
as he found them in his Plutarch. 

253. To walk abroad : to walk abroad in. The infinitive used as 
gerund ; see Introduction, § 28, and cf. on i, 1, 49. 

259-60. Go fetch fire. Pluck down benches, etc. : Antony's work 
is now done and "mischief" is indeed "afoot." 

262. Afoot: on-foot. See on a-shouting, i, 2, 223. 

268. He comes upon a wish: he comes just at the time I could have 
wished for him. 

271. Are rid: Does this construction seem natural to you ? 

272. Belike : perhaps, probably, it is likely. 

272-3. Some notice of the people. How I had mov'd them : a cir- 
cumlocution for "some notice of how I had mov'd the people." 

Scene III 

This scene is indicated in the Folio merely by the words. Enter 
Cinna the Poet, and after him the Plebeians. Though the scene 
seems to add nothing to the action of the main story, it is nevertheless 
a magnificent climax to the game that Antony has been playing. The 
killing of Cinna — an innocent man — is typical of what the passions 
Antony has stirred up can do. The rage of the mob in this deed of 
lawless violence forms a fitting conclusion to the second great move 
in the game. Antony has now won Rome, and we know that the con- 
spirators must away to take arms for protecting themselves and 
accomplishing the plans of good they have formed for Rome. The 
mob is, as we have said, one of the chief characters in this tragedy ; 
it is hardly exaggerated to say that it is the mistress for whose favour 
all the chief characters are playing. 

There is an interesting discussion throughout Brandes' William 
Shakspere : a Critical Study of Shakspere's aristocratic feeling and 
his contempt for the judgment of the masses. Of course this scene 
furnishes food for any critic who maintains that view of Shakspere's 
character. Cf . also the action of the mob in Goriolanus, 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 137 

For this story of the death of Cinna, Shakspere is again indebted to 
North's Plutarch ; see The Life of Julius Cossar (ed. Skeat, p. 102). 

2. Unluckily: The Folio reading, though one would rather expect 
the unlucky some editors have substituted. 

2. Fantasy: fancy. Cf. ii, 1, 231: "Thou hast no figures nor no 
fantasies." 

3. Forth of doors: out of doors. Cf. The Tempest (v, 1, 160) . 
• 'thrust forth of Milan." 

12. You were best: originally the you wsls dative after the imper- 
sonal: it were best for you; but in Shakspere's day the you was 
regarded as nominative. The modern idiom is "you had best" or 
"you had better." 

18. You'll bear me a baiig : "I'll give you a bang." Cf. i, 2, 264: 
"he plucked me ope his doublet," and see Introduction, §6. Perhaps 
the speaker is here too personally interested to allow us to consider 
the me as a genuine ethical dative. The construction, however, is 
very like that in i, 2, 264. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Can you imagine what the Capitol of ancient Rome must have 
looked like ? 2. Do you suppose Shakspere would have desired, if 
he were writing for the stage to-day, to have this scene, in representa- 
tion, archaeologically correct? 3. What seems to you the most impor- 
tant moment in the action of the first scene of the act ? 4. Which, 
from the point of view of Shakspere, is the most notable blow struck 
at Caesar ? 5. Can you imagine the thoughts of Brutus as he aimed 
his dagger ? 6. Why would he probably suffer more than Cassius ? 
7. Was Shakspere thinking, perhaps, of the historical scene less than 
of the actual scene in his tragedy, when he wrote the prophecy, 
"How many ages hence Shall this our lofty scene be acted over, In 
states unborn and accents yet unknown " ? 8. What do you think of 
Antony's course in seeming to join with the party of the conspirators ? 
9. Was his apparent lack of faith justifiable ? 10. Does Antony win 
the sympathy of the reader ? Why ? 11, What sort of man do you 
imagine him to have been? 

12. What should you have seen about you in ancient Rome, if you 
had actually stood in the Forum as Brutus and Antony delivered 
their speeches nearly two thousand years ago ? 13. Which of these 
two speeches, as Shakspere conceived them, do you like the better r 
14. Can you see why Brutus did not make a more lasting effect by 



138 NOTES [Act IV 

his speech ? 15. Why does Shakspere make him speak in prose ? 
16. What is the effect of Antony's continual reference to the "hon- 
oarabie '* Brutus ? 17. Could a speaker like Antony foresee the result 
CI this oration? 18. Is his oratory sound and good? 19. What popu- 
lar elements can you find in ifc ? 20. Can you trace the progress of his 
iiifiuence ever the mob, in the changed tone of his address, particularly 
toward che end ? 21. What do you think the real Roman mob would 
have locked like ? 22, What was Shakspere's conception of the mob 
in Julius CcBsar f 23. Can you see the dramatic propriety of the 
scene of the killing of Cinna, the poet ? 24. Does it add to the effect 
of Shakspere's treatment of the whole story ? 

ACT IV 

Note on the Structure of the Act. — Octavius, Lepidus, and 
Antony against Brutus and Cassius — the new order against the old : 
which shall win ? Caesar is dead, but his spirit lives on ; can the 
conspirators lay it ? This is the problem of the fourth and fifth acts 
of the play. We see Brutus, still noble in adversity, under the afflic- 
tion of the death of his wife and the quarrel with his friend Cassius, 
overcoming all difficulties of the spirit, and living on in the hope of 
restoring his country. He is now committed to justifying the blow 
of the Ides of March ; but, with all his good intentions, he fails. 
The quarrel with Cassius is, perhaps, dramatically valuable as show- 
ing Brutus' inability to meet the practical difficulties of the situation ; 
he alienates, at least temporarily, those he should most carefully bind 
to him. The scene shows, too, the disintegrating influences at work 
in the ranks of the array. Other than this, there would seem to be 
but little dramatic value to the famous quarrel between Brutus and 
Cassius ; it shows their characters — but does it affect, for more than 
a moment, the development of the plot ? It is true that, immediately 
after the scene, Cassius the more readily gives up his plan of battle 
in favour of that of Brutus — the third mistake of the two men in ex- 
acting and in yielding — but Cassius had, from the first, learned to 
bow to the supposedly superior judgment of Brutus. Strong as the 
scene is, might we consider it (however splendid in itself) as an episode 
apart from the main current of the action ? Whatever our answer 
to this question, we cannot but admit the significance of the visit of 
Caesar's spirit to the tent of Brutus ; there, at least, is a strong link 
between the last act and what has gone before. But as for the su- 
perb (joarrel scene — was it put in to fill up ? 



.^. Ij NOTES 139 



Scene I 

A house in Rome : The Folio reads, Enter Antony, Odavius, and 
Lepidus. That the scene must have been intended by Shakspere to 
be in Rome is shown by lines 10 and 11 in the dialogue. In reality, 
the meeting occurred November, 43 B.C., nineteen months after the as- 
sassination of Cassar, at a small island in the Rhenus (now Reno) near 
Bononia (Bologna). The scene excellently indicates the progress of 
time and events between the assassination and the gathering of the 
two armies in the pi*esent act. 

1, These many : so many. 

1. Their names are prick' d : Cf. iii, 1, 217 : ''Will you be pricked 
in number of our friends ? " 

5. Who is your sister's son : Plutarch says it was Antony's uncle, 
Lucius Caesar. 

6. With a spot I damn him : With a mark I condemn him. 

12. Slight, unmeritable man: insignificant, without merit. For 
slight, see Brutus' taunt to Cassius (iv, 3, 37), " Away, slight man! " 

22. To groan a7id sweat: Cf. Hamlet (iii, 1, 77), "to grunt and 
sweat under a weary life." 

22. Business : a trisyllable here. 

26. Like to : Cf. i, 3, 81, "like to their ancestors." 

28. Soldier : also a trisyllable. 

30. Appoint : give, provide. 

32. Wind : turn or wheel ; a term in horsemanship. 

37. On objects, arts, etc. : The Folio reading, changed by Theobala 
to " on abject orts," that is, "on the scraps and fragments of things 
rejected and despised by others." Staunton went further in his read- 
ing : "on abjects, orts, and imitations," abjects being "things 
thrown away as useless. " Though it is perhaps difficult to explain, 
word by word, the line as it stands in the Folio, nevertheless the whole 
line seems easy enough to comprehend, especially in connection with 
the following line. Lepidus is interested in talks of such things as 
others have grown tired of. Cf. the description — frequently quoted 
in this connection— of Shallow in 2 Henry 7F (iii, 2, 307): "He 
came ever in the rearward of the fashion ; and sung those tunes to 
the overscutched huswives which he heard the carmen whistle, and 
sware*they were his fancies, or his good-nights." 

38. StaVd: made common. See i, 2, 73. 

40. But as a property : but as a stage property, to be treated as we 



140 NOTES [Act IV 

please. Cf. Twelfth Night (iv, 2, 88): "They have here pro;pertied 
me ; keep me in darkness," etc. 

41. Listen great things: See Introduction, §31, and cf. v, 5, 15, 
"list a word." In Much Ado about Nothing (iii, 1, 11) we find 
" There will she hide her, To listen our purpose." 

44. Our best friends made, our means stretch'd : Thus, except for 
spelling, etc., the first Folio. The second Folio fills out the defective 
line thus : " And our best means stretcht out." Malone reads " our 
means stretch'd to the utmost." 

45-6. Go sit in council, IIoiv covert matters may he best disclosd : 
We should expect either "go sit in council as ^ahow," etc.; or, "go 
and consult how," etc. 

49. Bay^d about : like bears tied to a stake and barked at and Avor- 
ried by a pack of dogs ; cf. iii, 1, 205, and Macbeth (v, 7, 1) : 

" They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly, 
But, bear-like, I must fight the course." 

Scene II 

The Folio has : Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucillius, and the Army. 
Titinius and Pindarus meete them. There is no other indication oi a 
change of scene. 

5. To do you salutation : Several editors refer to Bichard III(t, 3, 
210): "The early village cock Hath twice done salutation to the 
morn." Cf. in Julius Ccesar (iii, 2, 57) " Do grace to Cassar's corpse." 
and (iii, 2, 120): "And none so poor to do him reverence." See, also, 
Troilus and Cressida (i, 3, 218-9) : 

"May one that is a herald and a prince 
Do a fair message to his princely ears ? " 

14. How he received. you, let me be resolv'd : Brutus' favourite habit 
of inversion. Cf. i, 2, 162 ff : 

*' That you do love me, I am nothing jealous ; 
What you would work me to, I have some aim ; 
How T have thought of this and of these times, 
I shall recount hereafter." 

26. They fall their crests : They let, or make, fall their crests. 
" Craik says that this transitive use of fall 'is not common in Shak- 
spere ' ; but it occurs sixteen times. " — Bolfe. 



Sc. IIlj NOTES 141 

26. Deceitful jades : Horses that deceive one by a promise of speed, 
etc., not to be fulfilled; they " sink in the trial," 

29-30. The greater part . . . are come .• Cf. on '' three parts of 
him is ours already " (i, 3, 154-5). 

37, Host noble brother : What was the relationship between Cas- 
sius and Brutus ? 

41. Be content : be self-contained ; restrain yourself. 

42. I do know you well : I know your habit of blurting out your 
anger in plain hearing of all. 

46. Enlarge your griefs : Enlarge upon your grievances. See i, 3, 
118: "'Be factious for redress of all these griefs [grievances], and 
iii, 2, 213, "What private griefs they have, alas, I know not." 

50. Lucilius, do you the like : Craik changed the Lucilius to 
Lucius, on the following grounds : " The original text is, — ■ 
' Lucillius, do you the like, and let no man 
Come to our tent till we have done our Conference. 
Let Lucius and Titinius guard our doore. ' 

To cure the prosody in the first line, Steevens and other modern 
editors strike out the you. It is strange that no one should have been 
struck with the absurdity of such an association as Lucius and Titinius 
for the guarding of the door. An officer of rank and a servant boy — 
the boy, too, being named first. The function of Lucius was to carry 
messages. As Cassius sends his servant Pindarus with a message to 
his division of the force, Brutus sends his servant Lucius with a 
similar message to his division. ISTothing can be clearer than that 
Lucilius in the first line is a misprint for Lucius, and Lucius in the 
third, a misprint for Lucilius. Or the error may have been in the 
copy ; and the insertion of Let was probably the attempt of the 
printer or editor to save the prosody of that line, as the omission of 
the you is of the modern editors to save that of the other. . . , 
At the close of the conference we have Brutus again addressing him- 
self to Lucilius and Titinius, who had evidently kept together all the 
time it lasted." 

Scene III 

The Folio indicates the change of scene by the words Exeu7it. 
Manet Brutus and Cassius. 

2. Condemned and noted : Cf. iv, 1, 6: " with a spot I damn him." 
The words "condemned and noted" are taken from Plutarch. 
Noted : disgraced, marked with a stigma. 

4. Wlierein : syncopated for " a case in which." 



142 NOTES [Act R 

8. That every nice offence should hear his comment : That every 
small offence should bear its comment. Nice : foolish or trifling, i» 
Shakspere's day. On his for its, see Introduction, § 3. 

11. Mart : See Introduction, § 38. 

13. You are Brutus that speaks : For the construction, see iii, 1, 3©, 
*' Casca, you are the first that rears your hand." 

16. His head : Cf. on " his comment," line 8, above. 

26. Grasped thus : One can see Brutus' gesture. 

27. Had rather : Cf. note on i, 2, 168 : "Brutus had rather be a 
villager." 

28. Bait not me : The Folio reads baite / Theobald changed it to 
bay, on the theory that Shakspere wished Cassius to echo Brutus' word. 
The assumption is reasonable. 

30. To hedge me in : another gerundial infinitive. 

31. Older in practice, etc. : Thus Antony speaks to Octavius (iv, 1, 
18): " Octavius, I have seen more days than you." 

37. Away, slight man: Cf. iv, 1, 12 : "slight, unmeritable man." 

44. Budge : Cf. Hamlet (iii, 4, 18) : *' Come, come, and sit you 
down ; you shall not budge''; and Coriolanus (i, 8, 5): " Let the first 
budger die." The word is not particularly elegant to-day. 

46. Testy : heady, fretful. 

51. Soldier : probably a trisyllable here, as in iv, 1, 28. 

56. I said an elder soldier, not a better : He really said, " Older in 
practice, abler than yourself, to make conditions." 

58. Durst : See Introduction, § 16. 

64. I may do that I shall be sorry for : a case of relative and ante- 
cedent combined. See Introduction, § 9. 

73. To wring : For this unnecessary to, cf. on '* to repute " (i, 2, 
173). 

79-80 : So covetous To lock : We are now familiar with this omis- 
sion of the conjunction before expressions denoting result. 

80. Rascal: base, ill-conditioned. Rascal meant, in Shakspere's 
day, also the young of a herd of deer, lean and out of season. Cf. As 
You Like It (iii, 3, 50) : '*The noblest deer hath them as huge as the 
rascal." 

80. Counters : TOMud pieces of cheap metal used in making calcu- 
lations. 

Brutus is here somewhat inconsistent. He may depreciate money 
in talk, but his desperate need of it is apparent. Like many philoso- 
phers, he will not himself get money "by vile means," but he ha? n« 
objection to using that which others have thus acquired. 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 143 

84. Brutus hath riv'd : Cf. i, 3, 5-6 : "When the scolding winds 
Have riv'd," etc. 

93. Alone on Gassius : on Cassius alone. Cf. i, 2, 157: "one only 
man." 

94. A-iveary : Cf. The Merchant of Venice (1, 2, 1): "By my troth, 
Nerissa, my little body is a^weary of this great world." 

97. Conn'd : like a lesson. We still hear " to con a task or les- 
son," though the verb is rarely used nowadays. 

101. Plutus' : The Folio reads Pluto's. See on i, 2, 3, Antonius'. 
Plutus is the old god of riches, who had all the world's gold in his 
keeping. 

108. Dishonour shall be humour : that is, I shall consider dis- 
honour the result of your testy humour, 

110. As the flint hears fire : Cf. Cassius' words (i, 2, 176) : ** I am 
glad that ray weak words Have struck but thus much show of fire 
from Brutus." 

111. Who : Modern usage requires ivhich. 

130. Than ye : The correct form for the nominative. See Intro- 
duction, § 1. 

132. Saucy fellow : Cf. i, 1, 17 : thou " naughty knave." To-day 
we should hardly use either naughty or saucy as Shakspere here 
employs them. Both adjectives are applied to children ; saucy to 
children, domestics, and women ; rarely to men. 

135. Jigging : Malone tells us that jig used to mean a metrical 
composition as well as a dance. 

136. Companion : For this derogatory sense of companion, cf. 
Coriolanus (iv, 5, 11-2) : " Has the porter his eyes in his head, that 
he gives entrance to such companions f" and again (v, 2, 57) : " Now, 
you companion, I'll say an errand for you," etc. 

137. Lucilius and Titinius : See note on line 50, above. 

144. If you give place to accidental evils : if you become disheart- 
ened by evils that are beyond your control. 

150. Impatient of my absence, etc. Note the confused grammatical 
structure of this sentence of Brutus. Shakspere's later work is fre- 
quently distinguished by involved structure, elliptical speech, unfin- 
ished sentences, etc. This reproduction of the habit, in minds pro- 
foundly moved, of jumbling ideas, one thought crowding on another 
before the first has been, fully expressed, had been thoroughly mastered 
by Shakspere in his later years. Much of the alleged obscurity of 
Browning is due to this same habit of dramatic utterance. 

153. That tidings : Tidings is both singular and plural in 



144 NOTES [Act IV 

Shakspere. Of. a% 3, 54 : " These tidings will well comfort Cas- 
sias. " 

153. Distract : distraught, distracted. For the past participle 
without -ed, cf. Troilus and Gressida (i, 3, 187) : " Many are infect " ; 
(i, 3, 125): " When degree is stifocate " ; (v, 1, 28) : "Why art thou, 
then, exasperate 9 " 

154. Her attendants ahsent : Cf. i, 1, 43, "Your infants in your 
arms." 

155. Re-enter Lucius, with wine and taper : The Folio reads Enter 
hoy ivithwine and tapers; but from line 162, there would seem k) be 
only one taper, unless the others were placed in a different part of the 
tent. 

169. Myself have letters : See Introduction, § 5. 

173. An hundred : On the an, see Introduction, §11. 

181. Writ : written ; this form is now slowly dying out of even 
Yulgar speech. See Introduction, §17. 

182. MethinJcs : originally the me was the dative case of the pro- 
noun used with the impersonal verb think, to seem. MethinJcs = it 
seems to me. 

192. In art : probably, in theory or in profession. His philosophy 
was strong, but the flesh would have been weak. 

194-5. What do you think Of marching to Philippi : See North's 
Plutarch, Life of Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 138) : "Thereupon Cassius 
was of opinion not to try this war at one battle, but rather to delay 
time, and to draw it out in length, considering that they were the 
stronger in money, and the weaker in men and armour. But Brutus, 
in contrary manner, did always before and at that time also, desire 
nothing more than to put all to the hazard of battle, as soon as might 
be possible : to the end he might either quickly restore his country to 
her former liberty, or rid him forthwith of this miserable world, being 
still troubled in following and maintaining of such great armies 
together. " 

195. Presently : at once. 

199. Doing himself offence : injuring himself. 

205. The enemy, marching along hy them : Can this line, with any 
shoAv of reason, be scanned regularly ? 

209. If at Philippi we do face him there : As to this pleonastic fhei-e, 
cf. V, 1, 5 : " They mean to warn us at Philippi here." 

210. These people at our back : Another absolute expression. Cf. i, 
1, 43 : "Your infants in your arms." 

216. TTiere is a tide in the affairs of men : These famous lines are 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 145 

in Shakspere's more formal, less happy manner. For the thought, 
cf. Troilus and Cressida (v, 1, 79): "I have important business. The 
tide whereof is now." 

223. We'll along ourselves and meet them at Philippi : Scan. 

224. The deep of night has crept upon our talk : a line in Shak- 
spere's best manner. 

226. Niggard : Craik says that this is probably the only instance 
in the language where niggard is used as a verb. Others point out 
Sonnets, i, 12: "Makest waste in niggarding."" 

228. Will we rise and hence : Another variant of Shakspere's habit 
of omitting the verb of motion. 

233. Never come such division, etc.: Is again necessary after never f 

235. Good night, my lord. Good night, good brother : Is there any- 
thing typical of the two men in the forms of their parting ? 

239. Poor knave : Cf. 267, below, "gentle knave.'' Knave is here 
equivalent to the German knabe and of course has no specially de- 
rogatory sense. According to Craik, the word was, in Shakspere's 
day, fluctuating between its original meaning, " boy," and its modern 
meaning, " rogue," and was used in either sense. 

239. Thou art o'erwatcVd : Lucius' drowsiness is again illustrated, 
as at the beginning of Act II. Brutus' gentleness with him is typical 
of the man's character. For o'erwatcKd, cf. o'ershot (iii, 2, 150). 

249. Bethink : More often this word has the force of think on, or 
recall to mind. 

250. Look, Lucius, here's the book I sought for so : This line, with 
Lucius* answer, "I was sure your lordship did not give it me," could 
be made the basis for a disquisition on the character of Brutus and 
that of Lucius. It indicates a whole chapter of a man's daily life. 
The entire scene is one of the beautiful things in the play. As to the 
quality of the poetry, see Introduction, p. xliii. 

253. Much forgetful : This Shaksperian use of mtich is found now 
with participles, but not with adjectives. 

256. AnH please you : For an, cf. i, 2, 265, and see Introduction, 

266. Mace : a staff borne by, or before, an officer, as a sign of his 
authority. Here it seems to be used almost in its original sense of a 
club. 

268. So much wrong to wake thee: Cf. on line 80, above. 

271. Is not the leaf turn'd down : See Introduction, p. xli. 

273. How ill this taper hums : The coming of a ghost was sup- 
posed to make the lights burn low. Reference has frequently been 
10 



146 NOTES [Act IV 

made to Richard III, t, 3, 180, where the ghosts appear: " The lights 
hum blue. It is now dead midnight." For the scene in our play, cf. 
North's Plutarch, The Life of Julius Gcesar (ed. Skeat, p. 103); 

" Above all, the ghost that appeared unto Brutus shewed plainly 
that the gods were offended with the murder of Csesar. The vision 
was thus : Brutus, being ready to pass over his army from the city of 
Abydos to the other coast lying directly against it, slept every night 
(as his manner was) in his tent ; and being yet awake, thinking of his 
affairs (for by report he was as careful a captain, and lived with as 
little sleep as ever man did) he thought he heard a noise at his tent- 
door, and, looking towards the light of the lamp that waxed very 
dim, he saw a horrible vision of a man, of a wonderful greatness 
and dreadful look, which at the first made him marvellously afraid. 
But when he saw that it did him no hurt, but stood at his bed-side 
and said nothing ; at length he asked him what he was. The image 
answered him : ' I am thy ill angel, Brutus, and thou shalt see me by 
the city of Philippes.' Then Brutus replied again, and said, ' Well, 
I shall see thee then.' There withal the spirit presently vanished 
from him." 

277. Art thou some god, some angel, or some devil, etc. : Cf. Ham- 
let's address to the ghost {Hamlet, i, 4, 40) : 

' ' Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd^ 
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell," etc. 

278. That mak'st my hlood cold and my hctir to stare : Cf. the 
words of the ghost {Hamlet, i, 5, 16 ff.): 

' ' Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy yotmg Mood, 
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres. 
Thy knotted and combined locks to part 
And each particular hair to stand an end. 
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine.** 

278. Stare : stand stiffly erect. One may dimly get this notion in 
the modern use of the word. 

289. The strings, my lord, are false : This sleepy self-exculpation 
of the boy is one of the very most charming touches in the play. In 
fact, Lucius is a miniature masterpiece from his first scene to his last. 

297. Sirrah Claudius .- Cf. v, 3, 25. 

305. Betimes . early. Cf. the form belike, iii, 2, 272. 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 147 

QUESTIONS 

1. What traces can you find, in the slight sketch of Octavius in the 
first scene, of the man whose will was afterwards to oppose Antony's ? 
3. Has Antony changed in character since we first met him in the 
play ? 3. If so, has he changed for the better or the worse ? 4. Why 
is this first scene introduced ? 

5. Does the scene of the quarrel between Brutus and Cassius give 
you any idea of what had happened since the two men rode * ' like 
madmen through the streets of Rome " ? 6. What is the dramatic 
value of this famous scene ? 7. Does it show any new phase of the 
character of the two chief actors or give any clue to the state of affairs 
in the army of Brutus and Cassius ? 8. Does it add to the develop- 
ment of the story ? 9. With which of the two men do you sympathise 
in the quarrel ? 10. Has your respect for Cassius increased or de- 
creased since the beginning of the play ? 11. Do you admire the stoic 
calm with which Brutus receives the news of his wife's death ? 
12. What is the dramatic fitness of the ghost scene ? 13. Do you 
think the scene would be effective on the stage ? 14. Is the ghost's 
warning to Brutus suggestive of the soothsayer's warning to Caesar 
in the first act ? 

ACT V 

Note on the Structure of the Act. — In spite of its many scenes, 
this act has complete unity. The facing of the rival hosts, the 
skirmishes, the death of Cassius, and, later, that of Brutus, — all this 
ends "that work the Ides of March begun." It is the last swift 
retribution for what, for the purpose of his tragedy at least, Shakspere 
regards as the supreme wrong. In the case of Brutus, nothing but 
death can atone for the blow at Caesar ; yet he dies firmly believing 
in the justice of his cause and that he " shall h.'\ve glory by this losing 
day, more than Octavius and Mark Antony by their vile conquest 
shall attain unto." On the stage, these rival hosts, even at best, 
present but a paltry appearance ; the scenes of the deaths of Cassius 
and Brutus, however, are capable of making, with trained actors, a 
most lasting impression. Some of the best poetry in the drama — best, 
because simplest and most natural — occurs in this last act ; the pitiful 
outcome of the lofty dreams of Brutus must have moved Shakspere as 
not many other scenes in his plays could do, and the style in conse- 
quence seems as fresh and beautiful to-day as it must have seemed to 
the people for whom the work was written three hundred years ago. 



148 NOTES [Act T 



Scene I 

The stage direction, The Plains of Philippi, is Capell's. The Folio 
reads simply, Actus Quintus. Enter Octavius, Antony, and their 
Army. 

3. Regions : a trisyllable ; the -ion, as frequently, forming two 
'syllables at the end of a line. See on i, 3, 13. 

4. Battles : battle lines. 

5. Warn : summon. Cf. Richard III {i, 3, 39): " To ivarn them to 
his royal presence." 

5. At Philippi here : Cf. on iv, 3, 209. 

10. Bravery : bravado (Hudson) ; ostentation (Wright, quoting 
Plutarch's "but for bravery and rich furniture, Brutus' army far 
excelled Cassar's "). 

13. Tlie enemy comes on : Note the grammatical inconsistency be- 
tween comes and " Their bloody sign of battle," etc., in the next line ; 
the inconsistency has endured in common speech to this day. 

14. Their Moody sign of battle : See North's Putarch, The Life of 
Marcus Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 139) : " The next morning, by break of 
day, the signal of battle was set out in Brutus' and Cassius' camp, 
which was an arming scarlet coat." 

16. Softly : slowly. 

17. Even : level. 

18. Upon the right hand I : In Plutarch's account of the battle, 
it is said that Cassius, although more experienced as a soldier, allowed 
Brutus to lead the right wing of the army. Shakspere made use of 
this incident, but transferred it to the opposite camp, in order to bring 
out the character of Octavius, which made Antony yield. Octavius 
really commanded the left wing. This bit of characterization is 
excellent. Even here, at the beginning, Antony finds Octavius far 
from being so easily moulded as he expected. 

19. Exigent : exigency. 

20. But I will do so : that is, I will lead the right. 
25. Make forth : step forward (Craik). 

27. Words before bloivs : This scene of recrimination is a bit 
shocking. Was it an appeal to the groundlings ? On the stage 
to-day, the two little armies facing each other and indulging in 
mutual blackguarding is not far from ridiculous. 

33. The posture of your blows are : See Introduction, § 24. 

34. The Eyhla bees : Hybla, in Sicih", was famous for its honey. 
42. And bow''d like bondmen: See iii, 1, 55-6 : "Caesar, pardon : 



Sc. IJ NOTES 149 

As low as to thy foot doth Cassias fall," and, indeed, compare the 
conduct of the conspirators throughout the scene before the murder 
of Caesar. 

53. Cmsar's three and thirty wounds : Plutarch says the number 
was twenty-three. 

55. Save added slaughter: have added his slaughter as another 
victim, 

59. Strain : stock, race, lineage. 

60. HonourcMe : See Introduction, § 13, and compare Timon of 
Athe7is (i, 2, 125): "You see, my lord, how ample you're beloved"; 
and (iii, 6, 30) : " The swallow follows not summer more ivilUng than 
we your lordship." 

61. Peevish : frequently used by Shakspere in the sense of childish, 
foolish. 

61. Worthless : unworthy. 

63. A masker and a reveller: Cf. Csesar's " Antony that revels 
long o' nights" (ii, 2, 116). 

68. All is on the hazard : Fortune must decide which army is to 
win. 

69. The Folio reads, LucilUus and Messala stand forth. 

71. As this very day: Shakspere has other instances of a 
redundant as. Cf. Romeo and Juliet (v, 3, 246) : "That he should 
hither come as this dire night " ; cf. also the Shaksperian whenas 
for modern when. 

73. Against my will : Cf . the scene in iv, 3, 194 S. 

74. As Pompey was : Referring to the battle of Pharsalia, 48 
B.C., in which Pompey was forced by inexperienced men about him to 
engage. He was easily defeated by C^sar, 

76-7. / held Epicurus strong and his opinion : I held the opinion 
of Epicurus [to be] strong. See in North's Plutarch, The Life of 
Marcus Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 136): "Cassius being in opinion an 
Epicurean, and reasoning thereon with Brutus, spake to him touching 
the vision thus: ' In our sect, Brutus, we have an opinion, that we do 
not always feel or see that which we suppose we do both see and feel, 
but that our senses being credulous and therefore easily abused 
(when they are idle and unoccupied in their own objects) are induced 
to imagine that they see and conjecture that which in truth they do 
not.'" 

79. Coming from Sardis, etc. : For this passage Shakspere is again 
indebted to his Plutarch. See the Life of Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 137): 
" When they raised their camp, there came two eagles that, flying with 



150 NOTES [ActY 

a marvellous force, lighted upon two of the foremost ensigns, and 
always followed the soldiers, which gave them meat and fed them, until 
they came near to the city of Philippes : and there, one day only before 
the battle, they both flew away." 

82. Who to Philippi here consorted us : On the unnecessary here, 
cf. on line 5, above. Who: See iv, 3, 110-1 : "The flint . . . 
who,*' etc. Consorted : accompsinied. 

84. In their steads : Is the plural usual here ? See on behaviours, 
i, 2, 42; cf. Plutarch, Life of Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 138): "And 
yet further, theie was seen a marvellous number of fowls of prey, 
that feed upon dead carcases. . . . The which began somewhat 
to alter Cassius' mind from Epicurean opinions, and had put the 
soldiers also in a marvellous fear." 

86. As we were : See Introduction, § 33. 

92. Now, most nohle Brutus : What makes this one of the no- 
blest scenes in the play, from a dramatic and purely poetical stand- 
point ? 

95. Incertain : The in and un prefixes were far from being settled 
in Shakspere's day. Cf. on unfirm, i, 3, 4. 

100. Even hy the rule of that philosophy : On Shakspere's 
indebtedness to Plutarch for the substance of this speech, see Intro- 
duction, p. xix. He follows a misprint in the North translation, which 
makes Brutus say precisely the opposite of what he actually says in 
the Greek. 

104. Fall: Cf. on iii, 1, 244. 

104-5. So to prevent The time of life: So to anticipate (or come be- 
fore — prcBvenio) the time of the end of life. 

113. Begun for began is less elegant to-day. See Introduction, § 16. 

Scene II 

In the Folio the only indication of a change of scene is in the stage 
direction, Exeunt. Alarum. Enter Brutus and Messala. 

1. These bills of command or direction. 

2. The legions on the other side are, of course, those of Cassius. 

Scene III 

The Folio has merely the direction, Exeunt, Enter Cassius and 
Titinius. 
2. Myself : Explain the reflexive form. 
4. It : exceedingly vague. Cassius means, of eourae, ibat he slew 



Sc. Ill] NOTES 151 

the ensign-bearer and took the standard (or eosi^a in the other sense) 

from him. 

6. Some advantage on : For the preposition, see Introduction, f^ 30> 
18. Whether : here a dissyllable, and printed thus in the Folio, 

18. Yond troops : Cf . ' ' Yonder troops *' (line 16, above) and see on 
" Yond Cassius " (i, 2, 194). 

19. With a thought : quick as thought. Cf. The Tempest (iv, 1, 
164) : " Come with a thought." 

35. My life is run his compass : The reader will now have no diffi- 
culty in accounting for the form his. For is run cf. is ascended (iii, 
2, 11). 

25. Sirrah : Ordinarily this form of address is applied only to in- 
feriors. Cf. (iv. 3, 297-8) : "Sirrah Claudius ! " 

35. My best friend : Titinius well merits this description. Note his 
grief in the scene immediately following the death of Cassius, and 
his subsequent suicide. 

38. Swore thee : made thee swear. Cf . Introduction, § 40. 

38. Saving of thy life : the idiom ? 

40. Thou shouldst attempt it: How is the shouldst to be justified 
here? See Introduction, § 21. 

42. Search this bosom: Pierce, or probe, this bosom. 

43. Silts : Used in this play, as elsewhere in Shakspere, for the 
hilt of a single weapon. 

45. Pindarus stabs him: not in the FoHo. 

48. Durst: See Introduction, § 16. 

56. Bondman: How does this word differ in meaning from bonds- 
man f 

60. setting sun, etc. : Note the difference of effect between the 
words of Titinius and those of Messala, immediately following. In 
spite of the fact that genuine grief rarely indulges at the outset in 
similes so elaborate as this of the setting sun, there is, nevertheless, a 
touch of the sincerest sorrow in the lamentation of this " best friend " 
of Cassius; on the other hand, the apostrophe of Messala to "hateful 
error, melancholy's child " seems little short of bombastic under the 
circumstances — philosophical, perhaps, but hardly sympathetic. Mes- 
sala, it should be remembered, is rather the friend of Brutus than of 
Cassius. It is possible that Shakspere meant the difference in effect 
between the two speeches to indicate this difference in the relation- 
ship of the two men to Cassius. 

66. Good svyccess: In Shakspere's daj, suo909» wna » neutral word, 
frequently needing a qualifying adjective. 



152 NOTES [Act V 

86. Bid : See Introduction, § 16. 

89-90. Part , . . heart : Account for the rhyme here. 

94. Julius Gcesar, thou art mighty yet: See Introduction, p. 
xxiv. 

97. Look, whether he have not croivn'd: How is the second word to 
be pronounced ? See on i, 1, 64. 

99. The last of all the Romans : This title was commonly bestowed 
upon Marcus Cato. For the scene here, see North's Plutarch, Life 
of Marcus Brutus (ed. Skeat, p. 144) : " So when he was come thither, 
after he had lamented the death of Cassius, calling him the last of all 
the Romans, being unpossible that Rome should ever breed again so 
noble and valiant a man as he, he caused his body to be buried, and 
sent it to the city of Thassos, fearing lest his funerals within his camp 
should cause great disorder." 

101. Moe: more, as in ii, 1, 72. 

104. Thasos: an island in the ^gean. The Folio reads Tharsus. 

105. His funerals: Cf. hilts, line 43, above; Shakspere more fre- 
quently uses the singular, funeral. 

106. It : Unless funerals was singular to Shakspere, this it must 
have almost an impersonal force. 

107. Young Cato : What was his relationship to Brutus ? 

108. Laheo and Flavius: The Folio has Lahio and Flavio. 

108. Set our battles on : Battles here probably means battle lines, 
or battle array, as in v, 1, 4. 

Scene IV 

The Folio, as usual, makes no indication of a change of scene. The 
stage direction here is practically Capell's. 

12. Only I yield to die : For the position of only, compare i, 2, 157: 
*' but one only man." 

17. Til tell the news: Pope's correction for the Folio "I'll tell 
thee news." 

Scene V 

5. Whispering : This stage direction is not found in the Folio. 

11. Request . » . to thee : ** Of thee" would be more natural 
to-day. 

13-4. Full of grief That it runs: Account for the omission of so 
before full. 

32. Thou seest the world, Yolumnius, how it goes : a beautiful 



Sc. V] NOTES, 153 

redundancy here. Cf . note on ' ' Belike they had some notice of the 
people, How I had mov'd them " (iii, 2, 272-3). 

31-2. Farewell to you ; and you ; and you . . . Strata, thou 
liast been : For this change from the plural to the singular, see Intro- 
duction, § 4. What have you noticed in regard to Shakspere's use of 
the second person singular in your reading of this play ? 

34-5. My heart doth joy that yet in all my life I found tm man hut 
he was true to me : It is a curious fact that these most musical and 
touching lines are made up of one-syllabled words ; curious, because 
ordinarily such composition, unrelieved by longer words, leads to the 
baldest monotony. But, after all, it depends on the artist. For 
Shakspere's indebtedness to Plutarch for the idea, see Introduction, 
p. xix. 

35. No man hut he : no man that was not. An interesting essay 
could be written on the various uses of hut in this play. 

46. Smatch : smack. 

47. Sold then my sword : Suetonius, Life of Julius OcBsar, Ixxxix : 
*' Scarcely any of those who were accessory to his murder survived 
him more than three years, or died a natural death. They were all 
condemned by the Senate : some were taken off by one accident, some 
by another. > Part of them perished at sea, others fell in battle ; and 
some slew themselves with the same poinard with which they had 
stabbed Ceesar." This last refers to Brutus and Cassius, of whom the 
same fact is related by Plutarch and Dio. 

56. For Brutus only overcame himself : This only is a good ex- 
ample of the so-called "squinting" construction; does it modify 
Brutus or overcome ? 

60. Entertain : take into service. 

69. Save only he : See Introduction, g 1. 

70. Bid that they did : See Introduction, § 9. 

71-2. In a general honest thought And common good to all : Pleo- 
nastic and involved ; the meaning, of course, is, in an honest thought 
for the good of all, or for the general (or common) good. Or is it a 
general, honest thought ? 

80. The field : the embattled hosts. 

81. To part: to divide. 

In considering the general effect of the close of this play, compare 
the end of Hamlet, after the entry of young Fortinbras. 



154 NOTES [Act V 



QUESTIONS 

1. Wbiclfi of the figures in this final act do you follow with most 
interest throughout the battle ? 2. Is there the actual excitement 
of battle in the working out of the situation ? 3. What seems 
to you the most important scene in the act ? 4. What decided 
the fate of the conflict ? 5. Do you agree with Antony's opin- 
ion of Brutus at the close of the play ? 6. Are you satisfied with 
the way the tragedy ends ? 7. Should you have been pleased to have 
Brutus and Cassius win and live happily after the battle ? 

8. What is your opinion of the play as a whole ? 9. Does it seem 
to you more or less interesting than the modern books you are accus- 
tomed to read ? 10. Do you think you would care to read the play 
again in a year or two ? Why ? 



INDEX TO NOTES 



Absolute expressioks, 93, 144. 
Accidental evils, if you give place 

to, 143. 
Acts mid scenes, division into, 90. 
Addressed, 124. 
Adjectives : as adverbs, 100, 115, 124, 

129, 134, 149 ; as verbs, 96 ; doitble 

superlatives, 127, 135 ; nouns as, 93. 
Afeard, 118. 
AfOectioBs, 110. 
Afoot, 136. 
After, 96. 

Aim, I have some, 99. 
Alchemy, 107. 
All is on the hazard, 149. 
Alliteration, 93. 
Alone on Cassius, 143. 
A.n, before h or u, 93, 144. 
A.n, conj., 102, 145. 
Anachronism, 102, 105, 111, 114, 

145. 
Answei-, my, must be made, 106. 
Antonius', 94. 
Antony : his hostile audience, 133 ; 

his oration, 131 ; his treachery, 

129. 
Applauses, 97. 
Appoint, 139. 
Apt to be render'd, 119. 

— to die, 128. 
Are come, 123, 

— rid, 136. 
Arms across, 115. 

Arrive the point propos'd, 96. 

Art thou some god, some angel, or 

some devil, 146. 
As it were, 126 ; as we were, 150. 

— this very day, 149. 

— who goes farthest, 106. 
A-shouting, 100. 

Ate, 130. 

Away, slight man, 142. 

A-weary, 143. 

Awl, but with. I am indeed, sir, 92. 

Bait Not Me, 142. 
Base degrees, 110. 
Battles, 148, 152. 



Bay'd, 129. 

— about, 140. 
Be, 100. 

Bear back, 134. 

— Caesar hard, 115. 

— it, 115. 

— me a bang, 137. 

hard, 103, 128. 

Bears with glasses, 114. 

Beg not your death of us, 138c 

Begun, 150. 

Behaviours, 95. 

Beholding, 133. 

Belike, 136. 

Best friend, 151. 

Bethink, 145. 

Betimes, 146. 

Betwixt, 112. 

Bevond all use, 118. 

Bid, 152. 

Bills, 150. 

Bird of night, 104. 

Bloody, fiery, 106. 

— sign of battle, 148. 
Boldest, most, 127. 
Bondman, 151 ; bondmen, 148. 
Bootless, 126. 

Braverv, 148. 

Brook'd, 98. 

Brought, 103. 

Brutus hath a suit, 121. 

Brutus', old, statue, 106. 

Brutus, Marcus : Ms laconic style, 
98 ; his oration, 133 ; his political 
and other mistakes, 114, 129, 144 
his relations toward Lucius, 115, 145; 
tovmrd Portia, 115 ; his rdaiio7i- 
ship to Lucius Junius Bnctus, 98, 
106,111, 117, 133; to Caseins, 94, 
111 ; his self consciousness after the 
murder of Ccesar, 127; his unwilling* 
ness to take an oath, 112. 

Budge, 142. 

Burneth, 110. 

Business, 139. 

But, 153. 

— honours you, 112. 
Bv, 95. 



156 



INDEX TO NOTES 



C^SAR : assassination of, 124 ; cor- 
diality, 119 ; grandiloquent speech, 
125 ; his mantle, 135 ; prodigies be- 
fore his death, 104 ; refuses the crown, 
101 ; his spirit lives on, 152 ; super- 
stition, 114, 118 ; swimming prowess, 
97 ; temperance, 120 ; three and thirty 
wounds, 149 ; triumph, 93 ; vacilla- 
tion, 119 ; 7iis will, 135. 

Csesar doth not wrong, 125. 

Calpurnia, 94. 

— contrasted with Portia, 118. 

Cancel, 105. 

Carrion men, 130. 

Cassius : relationship to Brutus, 94, 
111, 

Cassius or Caesar never shall turn 
back, 124. 

Cast yourself in wonder, 105. 

Cato, 152. 

— , young, 152. 

— 's daughter, 116. 

Cautelous, 113. 

Censure, 133. 

Ceremonies, 118. 

— , decked with, 93. 

Charactery, 117. 

Charm, 116. 

Chew upon this, 99. 

Chose, 117. 

Cicero described by Brutus, 113. 

Ciuna the Poet, 136. 

Circulation of the blood, 116. 

Circumlocution, 136, 152, 153. 

Citizens, 132. 

Clean from the purpose, 104. 

Climate, 104. 

Climax of the play, 122. 

Clock hath stricken three, 114. 

Close, 129. 

Cobbler, 91. 

Cold modesty, 129. 

Colossus, 97. 

Comes upon a wish, he, 136. 

Coming from Sardis, 149. 

Common pulpits, 126. 

Commoner, 91. 

Companion, 143. 

Conceit, 129 ; conceited, 107. 

Conceptions only proper to myself, 
95. 

Condemn'd and noted, 141. 

Conditional Sentences, 105, 128, 134 ; 
mixed forms, 95, 105. 

Conjunctions, double, 126 ; omitted, 
97, 126. 

Conn'd, 143. 

Consorted, 150. 



Conspiracy, 111. 

Constancy, 120. 

Construe, 95. 

Content, 141. 

Contrive, 120. 

Controversy, hearts of, 96. 

Corse, 129. 

Costly, 130. 

Counters, 142. 

Covetous, so, to lock, 142. 

Coward lips did from their colour 

fly, 97. 
Cross blue lightning, 105. 
Jry "Havoc," 130. 
Cumber, 130. 

Damn, 139. 

Dank, 115. 

Dative, ethical, 101, 137. 

Dear abide it, 134. 

— my lord, 115. 

Deceitful jades, 141. 

Decius Brutus, 94, 112; his 

treachery, 114, 118, 119. 
Deck'd with ceremonies, 93. 
Deep of night has crept upon our 

talk, 145. 
Degrees, base, 110. 
Devil, eternal, 98. 
Dint, 135. 

Dishonour shall be humour, 143. 
Distract, 144. 
Do you salutation, 140. 
Doo-s of war, 130. 
Doing himself offence, 144. 
Doublet, 102. 
Doubt not of, 129. 
Drachmas, seventy-five, 135. 
Durst, 142, 151. 

East, here lies the, 112. 

Elder soldier, not a better, 142. 

Elephants, 114. 

Emulation, 120. 

Enemy comes on, 148. 

Entertain, 153. 

Envy, 114. 

Epicurus and his opinion, 149. 

Erebus, 111. 

Eternal Devil, 98. 

Ethical dative, 101, 137. 

Et tu. Brute, 126. 

Even, 148. 

Even virtue, 113. 

Evil, the, that men do lives after 

them, 134. 
Exeunt with Caesar's body, 131. 
Exhalations, 111. 



INDEX TO NOTES 



157 



Ejcie:ent, 148, 
Exorcist, 117. 

Factious, 106. 
Fain, 100. 
Fall, 130, 150. 

— their crests, 140. 
Falling sickness, 101. 
Fantasy, 137. 
Fashion him, 115. 
Fast asleep, 115. 
Father'd, 116. 

Favour, your outward, 96. 

Fell, 130. 

Fellow, 126. 

Ferret and . . . fiery eyes, 100. 

Field, the, 153. 

Figures, 115. 

— of speech, 135, 151. 

Fire, as the flint bears, 143. 

— drives out fire, 128. 

— , thus much show of, 99. 
Flavins, Marullus and, . . . are put 

to silence, 102. 
Fleering, 106. 

Flint, as the, bears fire, 143. 
Flood, the great, 97. 

— of mutiny, 135. 
Fond to think, 125. 
Fool, why old men, 105. 
Forth, 102. 

— of doors, 137. 
Fresh and merrily, 115. 
Fret, 112. 

Funeral, in the order of his, 129. 
Funerals, 152. 

Gamesome, 94. 

Genius, the, and the mortal instru- 
ments, 111. 
General, the, 110. 

— good, the, 96. 

— wrong of Rome, 128. 

Ghosts did squeak and squeal, 118. 

Glar'd, 104. 

Go see the order of the course, 94. 

— sit in council, how covert mat- 
ters, 140. 

Grasped thus, 142. 
Graves have yawn'd, 118. 
Greek to me, 102. 
Griefs, 135, 141. 
Groan and sweat, 1S9. 

Had as lief, 96. 

— rather, 99, 142. 
Hands, 103. 
Hart, 129. 



Hats, their, are pluck'd about their 

ears. 111. 
"Havoc," cry, 130. 
Hazard, all is on, 149. 
He comes upon a wish, 136. 
Heap, 104. 

Hearts of controversy, 96. 
Heavy, 116. 
Hedge me in, to, 142. 
Hell, 102. 

Here lies the East, 112. 
Hie, 106. 

High-sighted tyranny, 112. 
Hilts, 151. 

His for Us, 97, 115, 142, 151. 
Hold then my sword, 153. 
Honour, set, in one eye, 96. 
Honourable, 149. 
Honourable-dangerous, 106. 
Hour's, 120. 
How he receiv'd you, let me be re- 

solv'd, 140. 
Hurtled, 118. 
Husbanded, 116. 
Hybla bees, 148. 

I DO KNOW you well, 141. 

— said an elder soldier, etc., 142. 

— '11 tell the news, 152. 

— wish your enterprise may thrive, 
124. 

Ides of March, 94, 111, 123. 
Images, 93. 

Impatient of my abseu'^e, 143. 
In art, 144. 

— his funeral, 130. 

— favour's like, 106, 

— ... into, 96. 

— this place ran Cassius' dagger 
through, 135. 

Incertain, 150. 
Indifferently, 96. 
Infants, your, in j^our arms, 93. 
Bifinitive, for gerund, 93, 104, 134, 
136, 142. 

— sign omitted, 91 , 94. 
Insuppressive, 113. 
Intermit, 93. 

Is ascended, 132. 

— run, 151. 
Issue, 131. 
It, 150, 152. 

Jades, deceitful, 141. 
Jigging, 143. 
Just, 95. 

Kerchief, wear a, 117. 



158 



INDEX TO NOTES 



Kill him in the shell, 110. 
Knave, 145. 

Labeo and Flavins, 152, 

Labouring day, 91. 

Last of all the Romans, 152. 

Law of children, 125. 

Lean and hungry look, 100. 

Legions on the other side, 150. 

Lest that, 126. 

Lethe, thy, 129. 

Lief, had as, 96. 

Ijgarius, Caius, 119. 

Lightning, 105. 

Like, 99. 

— to their ancestors, 105. 
Likes, their, lOB. 

-Ii7ig^ lerminaiion, 97. 
Listen great things, 140. 
Look, Lucius, here's the book, 145. 
Lover, 120, 132, 133. 
Low-crooked court'sies, 125. 
Lucilius and Messala stand forth, 
149. 

— Titinius, 143. 

-— do you the like, 141. 
Lucius and Brutus, 115, 145. 
Lupercal, 93, 134. 

Mace, 145. 

Make forth, 148. 

Makes to Caesar, 124. 

Mantle, you all do know this, 135. 

March, Ides of, 94, 111, 123. 

— is wasted fifteen days. 111. 
Mark of favor, 111. 

Marr'd . . . with traitors, 135. 

Marry, 100. 

Mart, 142. 

Marullus and Flavins , . . are put 

to silence, 102. 
Masker and a reveller, 149. 
Me, for myself, 105. 
Mechanical, 90. 
Meet, 134. 

Mender of bad soles, 92. 
Methinks, 144. 

— there is much reason in his say- 
ings, 134. 

Mettle, quick, 103. 

Misgiving, my, still falls shrewdly to 

the purpose, 127. 
Mistook, 95. 
Mob, the, 136. 
Moe, 111,' 152. 

Monstrous state, unto some, 105. 
Mortified, 117. 
Most boldest, 127. 



Most horrid sights seen by the waiek, 
118. 

— unkindest, 135. 
Much forgetful, 145. 
Murellus, 90, 

Music, he hears no, 100. 
Must be let blood, 127. 
Mutifiy, flood of, 135. 
— , to rise and, 135. 
My heart doth joy, 153. 
Myself, 150. 

— have letters, 144. 

Napkins, 134. 

Nature of an insurrection. 111, 
Neat's leather, 92. 
Negatives, double, 100, 115. 
Nervii, the, 135. 
Never come such division, 145. 
Nice, 142, 
Niggard, 145. 

No place will please me so, no mea» 
of death, 128. 

— Rome of safety, 130. 

None so poor to do him reverence, 

134. 
Nor . . . nor, 105, 

— heaven nor earth have been, 118. 
Nothing jealous, 99. 

Nouns as adjectives, 93. 

— as verbs, 96. 

O Julius C^sar, thou art mights 

yet, 152. 
Oath, not an, 112. 
Objects, arts, 139. 
O'er-read, 123, 

— shot, 134. 

— watch'd, 145, 
Of for in, 114, 

Older in practice, 143. 
071 for of, 95, 

— for over, 151, 
O'nights, 100, 12C. 

Only, misplaced, 95, 98, 152, 153. 

Opinions of success, 118. 

Orator, I am no, as Brutus is, 135, 

Orchard, 109 ; orchards, 136. 

Our arms in strength of malice, 128. 

Palter, 113. 

Part, 153. 

Participles, past,9^, 111, 113, 114, 115 

117, 120, 129, 144. 
Passion, 130. 
Path, 111. 
Peevish, 149. 
Phantasma, 111. 



INDEX TO NOTES 



159 



Pharsalia, 149. 

Philippi here, 148, 150. 

— , if at, we do face him there, 144. 

— , of marching to, 144. 

— , plains of, 148. 

Physical, 115. 

Pindarus stabs him, 151. 

Pitch, 94. 

Place more void, 121. 

Please him come, 127. 

Phcrah, unusual, of nouns, 95, 97, 150, 

151, 153. 
Plutus', 143. 
Pompey's basis, on, lies along, 127. 

— porch, 106. 

— theatre, 107. 

Portia and Brutus, 115 ; and Cal- 
]ncrnia, 118 ; her voluntary wound, 
116. 

Posture of your blows are, 148. 

Pkepositions : odd use of, 95, 114, 
151, 152 ; omitted, 96, 99, 140. 

Praetor's chair, 106. 

Presently, 124, 144. 

Press, 94. 

Preterite tense ; see under Verbs. 

Prevent, 150. 

Prevention, 112. 

Prick 'd, 129, 139. 

Private griefs, 135. 

Profession, sign of your, 91. 

Prolepsis, 97. 

Pronouns, Personal : case forms, 
105, 126, 128, 133, 143, 153 ; con- 
fused reference, 100, 133 ; per- 
sonal and reflexive confused, 105, 
144. 

— Relative : antecedent, 93 ; antece- 
dent and relative combined, 103, 
117, 142, 153 ; Correlatives, 94, 99, 
106, 113, 125, 128 ; who for which, 
104, 143 ; ivhose, 97. 

Proof, 110. 

Proper, 92. 

Property, but as a, 139. 

Public chair, 133. 

— , reasons shall be rendered, 132. 

Publius, 119, 126, 

Puissant, 124. 

Pulpits, common, 126. 

Puns, 92, 97, 113, 129, 130. 

Quick mettle, 103. 

Rabblement, 100. 
Rank, 127. 
Rascal, 142. 
Rather, had, 99, 142. 



Reason to my love is liable, 119. 

Red as fire, 134. 

Reflexive pronouns; see under Pro- 
nouns. 

Regions, 148. 

Relative pronouns; see «nder Pro- 
nouns. 

Remorse, 110. 

Repealing, 126. 

Replication, 93. 

Resolv'd, 127. 

Resting, 126. 

Result clause: eonjicnetumi omitted, 
93, 125, 134, 142, 145, 153. 

Rheumy, 116. 

Rhyme, 103, 152. 

Riv'd, 103, 143. 

Rome, room, 97. 

Rout, 96. 

Ruby lips, 130. 

Ruddy drops that visit my sad heart, 
116. 

Rumour, 120. 

Rushing out of doors, 135. 

Sardis, Coming from, 14f . 

Saucy, 104, 143. 

Scandal, 96. 

Scansion, 95, 96, 104, 114, 1«0, 144, 
145. 

Schedule, 123. 

Search this bosom, 151. 

Seem, omitted, 114. 

Sennet, 94. 

Seven tv-flve drachmas, 10*. 

Several, 113. 

Setting sun, 151. 

Shadow, your, 95. 

Shakspere : fondness for the super- 
7iatural, 90, 103 ; introdnction to 
plays, 90 ; and the mob, 136. 

Shall, should, 105, 129, 130, 151. 

Sham'st thou. 111. 

Shouted, 101. 

Sick, 115. 

Sign of your profession, ^1, 

Silver hairs . . . will purchase, 113. 

Simile, 2:)opular, 134. 

Sirrah, 151. 

— Claudius, 146. 

Sister's son, who is your, 189. 
Slaughter, have added, 149. 
Slight man, 142. 

— unmeritable man, 139. 
Smatch, 153. 

So to most noble Antonv, 120. 
Softly, 148. 
Soldier, 142. 



160 



INDEX TO NOTES 



Sol'doquies, 111. 

Some notice of the people, how I 
had mov'd them, 136. 

Sooth, 120. 

Sort or limitation, 116. 

Spake, 117. 

Speed, 96. 

Spoke, 113. 

Spurn at, 110. 

Stale, 96 : etal'd, 139. 

Stare, 146. 

State of man, 111. 

— , unto some monstrous, 105. 

— , untrod, 127. 

Statue, 119, 135. 

Stays me at home, 119. 

Steads, 150. 

Stirr'd, are you, 119. 

Stole, 115. 

Stoop, Komans, stoop, and let us 
bathe, 127. 

Strain, 149. 

Strength of malice, 128. 

Stricken, 114 

Strings, the, my lord, are false, 146. 

Strucken, 120, 129. 

Submitting, me, 105. 

Success, good, 151. 

Sufferance, 112. 

Suit to Caesar, 121. 

Superlatives^ double; see under Ad- 
jectives. 

Sway of earth, 103. 

Swore thee, 151. 

Syntax, unusual, 95, 99, 108, 126, 
133, 134, 142, 151. 

Tag-rag, 101. 

Taper, how ill this, burns, 145. 

Temper, 97. 

Tending to the great opinion, 103. 

Testy, 142. 

Thasos, 152. 

That " Caesar," 97. 

— craves wary walking, 110. 

— day he overcame the Nervii, 135. 

— I shall be sorry for, 142. 

— Tiber trembled, 93. 

— tidings, 143. 
The which, 131. 
Therefore, 129. 

These and these extremities, 110. 

^ are their reasons, 104. 

'— many, 139. 

This paper, thus seal'd up, 110. 

— shall make our purpose necessary, 
114. 

Thorough, 127. 



Thou, 91, 120, 153. 
Thunder-stone, 105. 
Tiber banks, 93. 

Tide in the affairs of men, there is a, 
144. 

— of times, 130. 

Tinctures, stains, relics, and cogni- 
zance, 119. 
To friend, 127. 
Toils, 114. 
Took, 111. 
Toward, 96. 
Trade, what, art thou, 91. 

— a, which is, a mender of bad soles, 
91. 

Traitors, 134. 

Triumph, to see Caesar and rejoice 

in his, 93. 
True-fix'd, 126. 
'Twere best, 133. 

Unbraced, 105. 

Undergo, 106. 

Underliogs, 97. 

Unfirm, 103. 

Unicorns may be betrayed, with trees, 

1 14. ^ 
Unkindest, most, 135. 
Unluckily, 137. 
Unmeritable man, 139. 
Unshak'd of motion, 126. 
Unto some monstrous state. 105. 
Untrod state, 127. 
Upmost, 110. 
Upon a wish, he comes, 136. 

— the right hand I, 148. 
Us ourself, 124. 

Use to do, 101. 
Uttermost, 115. 

Verbs : adjectives as, 96 ; tJie auxil- 
iary Be, 123, 132, 136, 151 ; in- 
transitive as transitive, 119, 140, 151; 
nouns as, 96, 145 ; omitted after 
Will and Shall, 94, 118, 127, 129, 
130, 145 ; plural with singular sub- 
ject, 141, 148 ; preterite tense, 117, 
142, 150, 151, 152; singular with 
plural subject, 106, 107, 124, 138, 
142. 

Verse : melody, 153 ; resemblances 
between that of Hamlet and of Julius 
Ccesar, 109 ; scansion; see under 
Scansion. 

Void, a place more, 121. 

Vouchsafe, 117. 

Vulgar, the, 94. 



INDEX TO NOTES 



161 



Wafture, 115. 

Walk, you ought no^ 91, 

Walls, her wide, 97. 

Warn, 148. 

Wear a kerchief, 117. 

Weio^hing, 112. 

We'U hear the wUl, 134. 

Wenches, 102. 

Went sickly forth, 120. 

Were best, 133, 137. 

What a fearful night is thia, 106. 

— mean you, Caesar, 118. 

— need we any spur, 113. 

— night is this, 105. 
Where, 95. 
Wherein, 141. 

Whether (monosyllable), 93, 114, 

152 ; (dissyllable), 151. 
Which, the, 131. 

— of you shall not, 13S. 
Whiles, 100. 

Whilst, 128. 
Whit, 113. 

Who for which, 104, 143 ; for ieTioever, 
106. 

11 



Whose, 97. 

Why old men fool, 105. 

Wind, 139. 

Wit, for I have neither, 135. 

With : uses of, 96, 97, 105, 125, 135. 

— a spot I damn him, 139. 

— a thought, 151. 
Withholds, 134. 
Woe the while, 105. 
Wont, 94. 

Words before blows, 148. 
Worthless, 149. 
Writ, 144. 

YOND, 100, 151. 

Toil and thou; see under Thou. 

— are Brutus that speaks, 142. 
the first that rears your hand 

124. 

— ought not walk, 91. 

— shall not in your funeral speed: 
blame us, 130. 

Tour brother Cassius, 111. 

— voice shall be as strong, 128. 



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